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THE   HISTORY   OF  MANKIND 


PriTited  "by  thfi  BibliograjMsclies  Institut,  leipzig. 

A    BOSJESMAN    FAMILY. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF   MANKIND 


BY 

PROFESSOR  FRIEDRICH   RATZEL 


TRANSLATED    FROM    THE    SECOND    GERMAN    EDITION 

BY 

A.    J.    BUTLER,    M.A. 
WITH   INTRODUCTION  BY  E.  B.  TYLOR,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S. 


WITH  COLOURED  PLATES,  MAPS,  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOLUME    I 


ILontion 
MACMILLAN    AND    CO.,    Ltd. 

NEW  YORK :    THE  MACMILLAN  CO. 

1896  '  '    '    '- 

^  '    '       t  W  [:  I  'l  Y 


^.^^^\%l. 


INTRODUCTION 

When  the  first  edition  of  Ratzel's  Volkerkunde  was  published  In  1885-88  it  at 
once  took  its  position  as  a  guide-book  to  the  study  of  Man  and  Civilization.  To 
those  beginning  anthropological  work  it  offered  the  indispensable  outline  sketches 
of  the  races  of  mankind,  especially  of  the  savage  and  barbaric  peoples  who  display 
culture  in  its  earlier  stages,  thus  aiding  the  great  modern  nations  to  understand 
themselves,  to  weigh  in  a  just  balance  their  own  merits  and  defects,  and  even  in 
some  measure  to  forecast  from  their  own  development  the  possibilities  of  the 
future.  So  good  a  judge  as  Professor  Virchow  wrote  of  the  work  on  its  first 
appearance,  that  since  the  time  of  Prichard  and  Waitz  no  such  extensive  attempt 
had  been  made  to  represent  our  knowledge  of  the  lower  races  of  mankind, 
immensely  augmented  as  this  has  been  by  the  researches  of  travellers,  the 
exhibition  of  savages  in  Europe,  and  the  information  opened  to  the  public  by  the 
great  museums.  The  present  English  translation  is  from  the  second  German 
edition  of  1894-95,  revised,  and  condensed  from  three  to  two  volumes.  Special 
mention  must  be  made  of  the  illustrations,  1 1 60  in  number,  which  in  excellence 
surpass  those  which  had  hitherto  come  within  the  range  of  any  work  on  Man 
intended  for  general  circulation.  These,  be  it  observed,  are  no  mere  book- 
decorations,  but  a  most  important  part  of  the  apparatus  for  realising  civilization 
in  its  successive  stages.  They  offer,  in  a  way  which  no  verbal  description  can 
attain  to,  an  introduction  and  guide  to  the  use  of  the  museum  collections  on 
which  the  Science  of  Man  comes  more^and  more  to  deperi^d  in  working  out  the 
tlieor}rorhurrian  devglopm'ent.  "Wbrlcs^ which  combine  this  material  presentation 
of  culture  with  the  best  descriptions  by  observant  travellers,  promote  most  the 
great  object  of  displaying  mankind  as  related  together  in  Nature  through^  its  very 
variation.  The  Rev.  J.  G.  Wood's  Natural  History  of  Man  and  Dr.  Robert 
Brown's  Races  of  Mankind  have  in  this  way  done  much  to  promote  anthropology. 
The  bodily  differences  between  races  can  only,  it  is  true,  be  represented  by 
descriptions  and  well-chosen  portraits,  minute  physical  classification  belonging  to 
a  region  on-ly^  accessible  to  anatomists.  The  classification  of  peoples  by  their 
languages  can  only  be  illustrated  by  examples  chosen  from  the  grammar  and 
dictionary,  so  as  to  make  plain  the  conclusions  of  comparative  philology  without 
the  elaborate  detail  of  a  linguistic  treatise.  But  a  fuller  though  less  technical 
treatment  of  the  culture-side  of  human  life  lies  more  readily  open.     The  material 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


arts  of  war,  subsistence,  pleasure,  the  stages  of  knowledge,  morals,  religion,  may 
be  so  brought  to  view  that  a  compendium  of  them,  as  found  among  the  ruder 
peoples,  may  serve  not  only  as  a  lesson-book  for  the  learner,  but  as  a  reference- 
book  for  the  learned. 

In  our  time  there  has  come  to  the  front  a  special  study  of  human  life  through  such 
object-lessons  as  are  furnished  by  the  specimens  in  museums.     These  things  used  to 

r  be  little  more  than  curiosities  belonging  to  the  life  of  barbarous  tribes,  itself  begin- 
ning to  be  recognised  as  curious  and  never  suspected  of  being  instructive.  Nowa- 
days, it  is  better  understood  that  they  are  material  for  the  student  "  looking  before 
and  after."  In  the  collections  which  enshrine  them  for  perpetual  knowledge,  they 
fulfil  in  two  different  ways  their  illustration  of  the  course  of  culture.  In  the  way 
which  is,  and  probably  always  must  be,  the  more  usual,  all  the  objects  which  go 
to  furnish  the  life  of  a  people  are  grouped  together,  each  group  finding  its  proper 
level.     Thus  in  the  Ethnographic  Galleries  of  the  British  Museum,  the  general 

'  condition  or  "  altogether "  (to  use  the  useful  old-fashioned  term)  of  Australians, 
Polynesians,  Negroes,  Tartars,  presents  more  or  less  definite  groups  of  objects  in 
which  art  and  habit  have  fixed  themselves  at  a  consistent  level.  Where  the 
rooting-stick  appears  among  the  Bushmen  as  a  savage  implement,  we  find  in 
Africa  an  iron  hoe  (vol.  i.  pp.  88,  89).  The  South  Sea  Islander  can  sketch  a  rough 
map,  and  ingeniously  ties  together  a  little  framework  of  sticks  (see  vol.  i.  p.  165) 
to  serve  as  sailing  directions  on  his  voyages  across  the  ocean  ;  this  bears 
no  discreditable  comparison  to  the  compass  and  measured  chart  of  civilized 
navigation.  The  group-pictures,  which  show  not  only  the  bodies  but  the 
conditions  of  a  rude  race,  illustrate  this  stratification  of  culture  in  a  suggestive  if 
rough  educational  way.  Here  in  the  frontispiece  of  the  first  volume  the  Bushman 
leans  against  a  rock,  which  also  conveniently  supports  his  knobkerry ;  in  his  hand 
is  the  pipe  of  antelope-horn  for  smoking  hemp  ;  one  child  is  splitting  a  bone  for 
marrow  with  a  stone  implement  (which,  however,  does  not  belong  to  modern 
times),  while  another  child  carries  a  bull-roarer,  as  the  Berlin  street-boys  did  lately 
till  the  police  stopped  the  whirling  of  this  mystic  toy  ;  the  wife  carries  ostrich- 
eggs  in  a  net,  and  round  her  neck  are  teeth  strung  as  charms,  while  her  glass 
beads,  made  probably  at  Murano,  show  the  beginnings  of  contact  with  the  civilized 
world  ;  the  small  bow  with  its  quiver  of  poisoned  arrows,  and  the  water-skin  which 
makes  life  possible  in  the  thirsty  desert,  fills  up  the  foreground  of  the  picture. 
Among  such  rude  tribes  the  simplicity  of  life  is  such  that  from  a  group  like  this, 
or  the  picture  of  a  farm  among  the  Igorotes  of  the  Philippine  Islands  (Plate  at 
p.  393),  which  shows  these  rude  negritos  engaged  in  their  various  occupations, 
j  something  like  a  real  representation  of  their  life  as  a  whole  is  possible.  Mbre 
advanced  states  of  civilization  become  too  complex  for  this  to  be  any  longer  possible. 
^  Among  barbaric  and  much  more  among  civilized  peoples,  a  mere  trophjT^ 
ordinary  weapons  and  utensils  {e.g.  Plate  at  p.  232)  is  enough  to  fill  the  picture, 
and  life  has  to  be  divided  into  many  departments  to  give  even  an  idea  of  what 
useful  and  artistic  objects  belong  to  each.      In  ethnographic  collections,  where  the 


INTRODUCTION 


productions  of  a  tribe  or  nation  are  grouped  locally  or  nationally  together,  the 
student  of  culture  has  before  him  the  record  of  similar  human  nature  and 
circumstance  working  so  uniformly  as  to  present  in  each  class  of  objects  evident 
formative  principles,  developed  in  various  degrees.  He  finds,  or  hopes  by  further 
research  to  find,  in  every  such  class  courses  of  gradual_  invention  resembling 
growth.  Thus  among  the  implements  of  different  regions,  the  withe-bound  stone 
hatchet  of  the  Australian  takes  an  early  place  in  the  series  among  whose  later 
members  are  the  bronze  hatchet  of  Egypt  and  the  steel  axe  of  modern  Europe. 
So  among  means  of  literary  record,  the  picture-writing  of  the  American  Indian 
presents  a  lower  form  than  the  mingled  pictures  and  phonetic  symbols  of  ancient 
Egypt,  which  again  lead  on  to  alphabetic  writing.  At  Oxford,  the  Pitt-Rivers 
Collection  in  the  University  Museum  is  devoted  to  the  material  evidence  of  the 
laws  of  development  of  art,  custom,  and  belief,  to  investigate  which  by  means  of 
specimens  brought  together  from  all  accessible  regions  and  ages,  and  arranged  in 
series  according  to  their  form  and  purpose,  has  been  one  of  the  lifelong  labours  of 
the  founder.  The  working  of  such  a  method  may  in  some  degree  be  shown  from 
the  illustrations  ojjthe^present  work.  The  Damara  bow,  though  no  longer  carried 
as  a  weapon,  retains  the  purpose  of  a  musical  instrument  which  is  gripped  by  the 
teeth  and  the  tense  bowstring  struck  with  a  stick  ;  other  tribes  improve  this 
primitive  stringed  instrument  by  fastening  to  the  wood  a  hollow  gourd  or  similar 
resonator  to  increase  the  sound,  and  from  some  such  stage,  by  making  the  bow  and 
resonator  in  one  piece  and  stretching  a  series  of  strings  across  the  bow,  there  arises 
the  African  harp,  a  typical  form  representing  the  primitive  harp  and  lute  forms  of 
the  world  (illustrations  of  this  will  be  given  in  the  next  volume).  Not  indeed  that 
such  progressive  improvement  is  the  sole  rule,  for  degeneration  is  active  also, 
as  when  low  culture  leads  to  inferior  adaptation  of  a  known  type.  It  has  been 
thought  that  the  rude  wooden  crossbow  of  the  Fans  of  the  Gaboon  (see  vol.  i. 
p.  86)  represents  an  early  rude  stage  in  the  development  of  the  weapon,  but  it  is 
on  the  contrary  a  feeble  copy  of  the  arbalest  carried  by  the  Portuguese  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  thus  interesting  as  an  example  of  degeneration. 

In  a  work  whose  value  depends  so  largely  on  its  illustrative  pictures,  decorative 
art  must  be  conspicuous.  It  is  well  that  it  should  be  so,  opening  out,  as  it  does, 
an  important  problem  which  we  are  obliged  in  great  measure  to  deal  with  empiri- 
cally from  imperfect  knowledge  of  its  principles.  Even  practically,  the  civilized  world 
has  no  exclusive  possession  of  the  secret  of  decorative  art.  There  abound  in  our 
shops  costly  things  made  and  sold  for  little  other  purpose  than  to  be  pretty, 
which  are  nevertheless  unsatisfactory  to  the  educated  eye.  On  the  other  hand, 
savages  or  barbarians,  though  looked  down  upon  as  of  low  intelligence,  produce 
objects  which  allmust  admit  to  show  artistic  taste.  The  reader  will  find  proof 
sufficient  of  this  in  the  pictures  of  carvings  and  mats  from  Papua  and  Polynesia 
(pp.  241,  244,  247,  249,  262).  Now  what  is  it  that  makes  some  lines  beautiful, 
and  one  more  beautiful  than  another  ?  It  will  be  said  in  answer  that  beauty  of  out- 
line dependFon  boldness,  firmness,  and  evident  intention  in^  drawing,  which  no  doubt 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


is  partly  true,  but  some  lines  are  stiff  and  ugly,  some  flowing  and  elegant,  and  again 
much  stiff  ornament  is  admirable,  and  flowing  patterns  may  flow  clumsily.    We  may 
respect  Hogarth  for  attempting  the  problem  of  the  line  of  beauty,  for  with  fuller 
knowledge  the  moderns  may  succeed  where  he  failed.      The  more  types  of  tasteful 
ornamentation  in  varied  styles  can  be  stored  in  our  minds  the  nearer  will  be  the 
approach  to  its  understanding.      It  is  encouraging  to  consider  what  progress  has 
been  made  of  late  toward  solving  not   so   much  indeed  the  direct   problem   of 
decorative  beauty,  as    the   intermediate    problem  of  the  origin   and   meaning  oT 
ornament.     The  researches  of  General  Pitt-Rivers  on  the  gradual  transformation 
of  human  figures  into  ornamental  designs,  and  the  derivation  of  coil,  wave,  and 
step  patterns  of  cultured  art  from  realistic  representations  of  cords  and  plaitings, 
gave  an  impulse  to  this  interesting  study  which  has  continued  to  be  worked  out 
in   the  museum  bearing   his  name,  with  added  series  such  as  ^Mr.   Everar^   im 
Thurn^  pegals   or  baskets    made   by  the  natives  of  British   Guiana,  where  the 
plaited  pictures  of  birds  and  monkeys  dwindle  into  graceful  patterns,  unmeaning 
unless  their  derivation  is  known.      The  Evolution  oj  Decorative  Art  by  Mr.  Henry 
Balfour,  the  curator  of  the  Pitt-Rivers  MuseUriT;  should  be  known  to  all  students 
taking  up  this  attractive  line  of  research.     Dr.  Ratzel,  whose   feeling  for  orna- 
mental design  is  very  definite,  has  reproduced  many  instructive  objects,  among 
which  mention  shall  only  be  made  here  of  the  Sandwich  Island  calabash  slung  in 
a  carrying-net,  placed  close  by  two  other  calabashes  without  nets,  but  appropriately 
decorated  with  patterns  which,  according  to  the  island  habit,  are  conventionalised 
pictures  of  the  absent  network  (vol.  i.  p.  243).      Such  evidence  goes  far  to  abolish 
the  old-fashioned  idea  that  the  patternswhich  have  been  the  pleasure   of  ages 
were  devised  by  ingenious  artists  out  of  their  inner  consciousness.      Looking  at 
them_as   originally  derive_d_from   real   objects,  we  jee   none   the   less   how  they 
develop  into  variety,  so  that,  notwithstanding  unity  of  principle,  eadi  tribe   or 
district    tends    to   form    patterns  of   its   own,  which   again   being    characteristif, 
are  patriotically  encouraged  as  local  badges.     Thus  every  Melanesian  and  Poly- 
nesian   knows  which  island  a  mat  or  carving  comes  from,  just  as  in   Switzerknd 
outlying  villages  are  still    known   by  their   special    embroidery.      When   one  of 
these  populations,  savage  or  civilized,  is  destroyed  or  reformed   into   uniformity"^ 
with  the  general  fashion  of  the  country,  a  local  school  vanishes,  and  even~tiie~- 
examples  of  its  productions  disappear.     So  natural  is  this  that^  it  is  a  pleasant 
surprise  when  they  come  back  sometimes^  from  a  hiding-place.      ft~" broughPback 
to  me  such  a  memory  when,  in  this  book  (vol.  i.  p.  256),  I  opened  on  the  cut  of 
the  "  covered  vessel  in  shape  of  a  bird,  from   the  Pelew   Islands."     About    1880 
I  had  chanced  to  go  to  the  county  parish  of  Holcombe  Rogus  in  Devonshire  to 
pay  an  afternoon  visit  to  the  vicar,  Mr.  Wills.     A  remark  of  mine  as  to  a   stone  ' 
implement  on  the  mantelpiece  led  to  the   unexpected   remark   that  there  were' 
things  upstairs  from  the  Pelew  Islands.     When    I   protested   that  nothing  from" 
thence  had  come  to  England  since  the  time  when  Captain  Wilson  brought   over 
"  Prince   Lee   Boo,"  whose   sad    story   is   told   in   the   once   familiar   poem,  it   was 


INTRODUCTION 


answered  that  the  late  Mrs.  Wills  was  of  Captain  Wilson's  family,  and  had  in- 
herited his  curiosities.  Before  that,  two  generations  of  children  had  played  havoc 
with  them,  but  in  the  attic  there  were  still  the  great  bird-bowl  and  the  inlaid 
wooden  sword,  and  the  rupak  or  bone  bracelet,  that  prized  ornament  of  chiefs, 
with  other  familiar  objects  figured  in  Keate's  book.  I  represented  that  they  ought 
to  be  in  the  national  collection,  and  not  long  after,  Mr.  Wills,  on  his  death-bed, 
ordered  that  they  should  be  sent  to  me.  They  duly  took  their  deserved  places 
in  the  ethnographic  department  of  the  British  Museum,  where  no  doubt  they  will 
long  outlast  the  amiable  but  hopelessly  degenerate  islanders,  the  picture  of  whose 
social  decay  has  been  drawn  with  such  minute  faithfulness  by  Kubary. 

^In  understanding  the  likeness  which  pervades  the  culture  of  all  mankind,  the 
great  difficulty  is  to  disentangle  the  small  part  of  art  and  custom  which  any 
people  may  have  invented  or  adapted  for  themselves,  from  the  large  part  which 
has  been  acquired  by  adoptirig  from  foreigners  whatever  was  seen  to  suit  their  own 
circumstances.  Original  invention  and  modification  of  culture  must  take  place 
somewhere,  but  to  localise  it  in  geography  and  chronology  is  so  perplexing  that 
anthropologists  are  fain  to  fall  back,  especially  as  to  the  more  sirnple  and  primitive 
developments,  on  the  view  that  they  arose  each  in  some  one  centre,  or  possibly 
more  than  one,  thence  propagating  jhemselyes  over  the  world.  Who  shall  say, 
for  instance,  where  and  by  whom  were  begun  the  use  of  the  club  and  spear  which 
are  found  everywhere,  and  of  the  bow,  which  is  found  almost  everywhere  ?  The 
problem  becomes  mqre_  manageable  as  it  passes  to  special  varieties  of  these 
simple  weapons,  and  to  appliances  whkh  are  more  complex  and  elaborate.  For 
though  as  yet  no  definite  rule  has  been  ascertained  for  distinguishing  similar  in- 
ventions which  may  have  arisen  separately,  from  the  travelling  of  one  invention 
from  place  to  place,  yet  at  any  rate  experience  and  history  lead  us  to  judge  that 
the  more  complex,  elaborate,  and  unfamiliar  an  art  or  institution  is,  the  more  i 
right  we  have  tb"c6nsider  that  it  was  only  devised  once,  and  travelled  from  this  ' 
its  first  home  to  wherever  else  it  is  found.  History  often  helps  us  to  follow 
these_lines  of  movement  which  have  spread  civilization  over  the  world,  while 
on  the  other  hand_lhe  tracing  of  thearts  through  the  regions  of  the  world  is 
among  the  most  important  aids_  to  early  history.  Thus  in  the  case  of  the 
Bushmen  already  mentioned,  mere  inspection  suggests  that  the  glass  beads  which 
reach  them  through  the  traders  are  to  be  traced  through  an  art  history  leading 
back  through  Phoenicia  to  Egypt,  while  the  dakka-pipe  is  a  record  not  of  native 
African" invenfion,  but  of  the  migration  of  the  deleterious  habit  of  hemp-smoking 
westward  and  southward  probably^ from  Central  Asia.      It  is  well  for  the  student 


to  cultivate  the  habit,  of  which  this  book  will  give  many  opportunities,  of 
endeavouring  to  separate,  in  the  inventory  of  life  among  any  people,  the  pro- 
ducts of  native  invention  from  the  borrowed  appliances  of  the  foreigner.  Thus 
in  the  war-dance  of  the  Sioux,  the  guns  and  iron-headed  tomahawks  bartered 
from  the  white  trader  figure  beside  the  more  genuine  drum  and  stone-headed 
club ;  and  the  swords  and  daggers  of  the  African  countries  show  at  a    glance 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


the   influence   of  Asia   which    has    spread    with    and    beyond    the  range    of   the 

Moslem  religion. 

}/  For  the  study  of  eariier^  stages  of^  social  Hfe,  and  even  of  morals  and  religion, 
with  their  liTanifold  bearing  on  the  practical'  problems  of  modern  life,jherejs 
no  more   useful   preparation   than,  familiarity  with  the  modes  in  which  m^to^ 

Trt^and' r^esentation are   developed   and   propagated.     The   same   underlying 

hmnan  instinct,  the   same   constancj^f  hmp_anj-aculty_  through  low   and  high 
stages,  the  same  pliability^' life lolhe  needs  of  outward  circumstances,  which 

'precedes  'the~cultured  state  where  circumstances  have  to  yield  to  the  needs  oF 
man,   thesame   adaptation   of  artificial    means   suggested  by   nature,  the   same 

.copying  by  the  whole  tribe  of  the  devices^  whkh   individuals  have  started,_and 
then  their  wider  diffusion  by  one  tribe  copying  from  another — these  actions  go  on 

\  throughout  the  human  race,  and  thejrinciples  we  learn  from  mere  things  may 
guide  us  in  the  study  of  men.  The  habit  of_constant  recourse  to  actual  objects  is 
of  inestimable  use  to  us  in  the  more  abstract  investigation  of  ideas.  Its  scope  is 
limited  j  y^t  as  we  have  to  depehd'briefly  on  verbal  description  for  our  knowledge 
of  the  habits  of  distant  and  outlandish  peoples,  their  social  condition,  their  rules 
of  right  and  wrong,  their  modes  of  government,  and  their  ideas  of  religion,  the 
sight  of  the  material  things  among  which  such  institutions  are  worked  out  gives 
a  reality  and  sharpness  of  appreciation  which  add  much  to  the  meaning  of  words. 
The  rude  hut  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  inhabited  by  the  natives  occupied  among  their 
scanty  appliances,  brings  the  race  before  us  in  a  framing  to  which  we  adjust, 
almost  as  travellers  among  them  may  do,  our  ideas  of  the  life,  morals,  and 
religion  of  the  isolated  savage  family.  So  the  models  or  pictures  of  the  huge 
village-houses  of  Malays  or  the  higher  American  Indians  enable  the  spectator  to 
understand  the  social  condition  of  the  communities  of  grouped  families,  patriarchal 
or  matriarchal,  to  which  brotherhood  and  vengeance,  communal  agriculture  andT 
tribal  war,  naturally  belong.  Thus  in  every  djrection„thfi_  material  furniture  of 
life,  taken  in  its  largest  sense,  gives  clues  to  the  understanding  of  institutions  as 
tools  do  of  the  arts  they  belong  to.  The  paraphernalia  of  birth,  marriage,  and 
death  among  the  American  Indians,  the  backboard  of  the  papoose,  the  whip  of 
the  initiation  ceremony,  the  beads  and  paint  of  the  bride,  the  weapons  and  orna- 
ments sacrificed  for  the  use  of  the  dead  man's  soul,  tell  in  outline  the  story  of  their 
rude  life.  The  great  totem-system,  which  binds  together  in  bonds  of  amity  the  tribes 
of  the  barbaric  world,  takes  material  shape  in  the  pictured  and  sculptured  animals 
which  decorate  the  mats  and  the  roof-posts  of  British  Columbia  with  commemoration 
of  the  myths  of  divine  ancestors.  In  half  the  countries  of  the  world  the  concep- 
tion of  the  soul  and  of  deity  is  best  to  be  learnt  from  the  rude  human  figures  or 
idols  in  which  these  spirits  take  their  embodiment  (see  pp.  301  sqq).  To  learn  what 
the  worshippers  say  and  do  to  the  idols,  and  what  the  indwelling  spirits  of  the  idols 
are  considered  to  do  to  the  worshippers,  is  to  obtain  a  more  positive  knowledge 
of  the  native  theology  than  is  to  be  had  from  attempts  to  extract  scholastic  defini- 
tions from  the  vague  though  not  unmeaning  language  of  the  savage  priest. 


INTRODUCTION 


It  is  especially  because  the  present  work  comes  under  the  class  of  popular 
illustrated  books  that  it  is  desirable  to  point  out  that  this  does  not  detract  from 
its  educational  value,  but  on  the  contrary  makes  it  good  for  providing  a  sjoHd 
foundation  in  ■  anthropological  study.  To  discuss  the  theoretical  part,,  attacking 
or  defending  Professor  Ratzel's  views  on  the  diffusion  of  the  human  species  over 
the  globe,  the  classification  of  mankind  by  race  and  language,  and  tfe  geography 
of  civilization,  would  be  to  go  outside  the  purpose  of  this  introduction.  Still  less 
is  it  the  dul;y  of  the  introducer  to  seek  out  errors.  He  has  simply  to  recommend 
a  foreign  book,  pointing  out_to  what  classes  of  readers,  an3  for  what  purposes,  it 
is  likely  to  be  useful.      It  should,  however,  be  clearly  understood  that  great  as  the 


progress  of  anthropology  has  been  during  the  last  half-century,  yet,  as  in  other 
subjects~modern~aFl:o  their  scientific  form  and  rank,  the  collection  of  the  evidence 
has  not  yet  approached  completion,  nor  has  the  theory  consolidated  jnto  dogmatic 
form^  In  the  next  century,  to  judge  from  its  advance  in  the  present,  it  will  have 
largely  attained  to  the  realm  of  positive  law,  and  its  full  use  will  then  be  acknow- 
ledged not  only  as  interpreting  the  past  history  of  mankind,  but  as  even  laying 
down  the  firsf  stages  of  curves  _o£  movement  which  will  describe  and  affect  the 
courses  of  future  opinions  and  in^kutions.  This  will  be  a  gain  to  the  systema- 
tising  of  human  life  and  the  arrangement  of  conduct  on  reasonable  and  scientific 
"principles.  It  istrue  that  such  results  may  be  accompanied  by  some  dwindling 
of  the  adventurous  interest^which  belongs  tojhe  early  periods  of  a  science,  and 
possibly  the  anthropologists  of  the  next  century,  rich  in  theoretical  and  practical 
knowledge  shaped  into  law  and  rule,  may  look  back  to  our  days  of  laborious 
acquisition  of  evidence  and  enjoyment  of  new  results  with  something  of  the  regret 
felt  by  the  denizen  of  a  colonial  town  in  looking  back  to  the  time  when  settled 
occupation  was  only  beginning  to  encroach  on  the  hunters'  life  in  the  wild  land. 

EDWARD    B.  TYLOR. 


TRANSLATOR'S    NOTE 

Mr.  James  Payn  has  recently  compared  the  translator's  functions  to  those  of  the 
typewriter,  and  in  many  respects  the  comparison  holds  good.  Both  are  expected, 
like  little  boys  in  the  nursery  code  of  etiquette,  to  be  ''  seen  and  not  heard  "  ;  that 
is  to  say,  each  is  expected  to  reproduce,  in  his  own  medium,  what  is  laid  before 
him  in  another,  and  say  nothing  about  it.  However,  the  present  translator,  with 
some  diffidence,  craves  leave  for  a  moment  to  depart  from  this  rule.  One  fault 
leads  to  another,  and  having  on  a  few  occasions  in  the  body  of  the  work  ventured, 
as  the  merest  outsider,  to  append  an  illustration  drawn  from  his  own  reading  or 
experience,  in  confirmation  or  otherwise  of  Professor  Ratzel's  views  and  statements, 
he  is  almost  compelled  to  make  himself  "  heard  "  once  more,  if  only  to  deprecate 
reproof  for  what,  now  that  he  looks  back  on  it,  seems  to  have  been  an  impudent 
intrusion  into  other  people's  domain.  It  appears  to  be  held  in  many  quarters  at 
the  present  day  that  a  man  cannot  know  anything  about  a  subject  unless  he 
knows  nothing  about  any  other  ;  and  the  "  expert "  is  perhaps  justly  intolerant 
of  Margites. 

On  one  other  point  a  word  of  apologia  must  be  said.  A  fashion  has  sprung 
up  among  the  learned  of  spelling  barbarous  names  according  to  a  system  of  their 
own,  made  it  would  seem  in  Germany,  but  so  far  as  can  be  judged  from  the 
present  work,  intended  chiefly  for  English  use.  In  this  matter  a  distinction  has 
to  be  made.  In  names  "transliterated"  from  a  language  with  old-established 
written  symbols  differing  from  our  symbols,  it  may  be  necessary  on  philological 
grounds  to  adopt  a  conventional  system  of  equating  letter  with  letter,  even  at  the 
risk  of  suggesting  to  the  English  reader  a  sound  quite  unlike  that  of  the  original 
word,  or  of  breaking  through  an  old  tradition.  It  may  be  all  right,  for  instance, 
to  spell  the  name  of  a  well-known  cricketer  so  as  at  once  to  make  the  ordinary 
newspaper -reader  pronounce  his  iirst  syllable  as  if  it  rhymed  to  "  man,"  and 
disguise  the  fact  that  he  is  namesake  to  the  Lion  of  the  Punjab.  But  in  the 
case  of  names  which  till  Europeans  heard  them  never  had  occasion  to  be  spelt, 
surely  in  a  popular  work  it  is  best,  whenever  possible  without  great  violation  of 
custom,  to  give  the  form  which  most  nearly  conveys  the  sound  from  an  English  eye 
to  an  English  ear.  It  would  be  pleasant  indeed  to  write  Otaheite  and  Owhyhee, 
stamped  as  they  are  with  the  seal  of  literature  ;  but  here  we  have  surrendered  to 
France,  and  it  is  hopeless  to  revive  the  old  forms.      In  some  cases,  however,  we 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


are  still  at  liberty  to  consider  our  own  countrymen.  Why,  for  instance,  write 
Tunguses,  which  nine  Englishmen  out  of  ten  will  rhyme  to  "  funguses  "  ;  when  by 
following  our  fathers  and  writing  Tungooses  we  at  least  give  some  approximation 
to  the  right  sound  ?  Again,  why  write  ShiUuks  for  the  people  whom  Gordon 
reasonably  called  Shillooks  ?  Other  nations  would  not  hesitate.  A  German 
writes  Schilluk ;  a  Frenchman  doubtless  Chilouques  ;  an  Italian,  Scilucchi ;  a 
Spaniard,  if  he  ever  needs  to  mention  them,  Xiluques.  Why  are  Englishmen 
alone  not  to  keep  within  their  own  "  sphere  of  influence  "  in  this  matter  ?  Forms 
like  tapu  and  tatu  may  be  all  very  well  in  scientific  periodicals,  but  taboo  and 
tattoo  are  the  English  words,  and  should  be  used  in  English  books. 

In  conclusion,  the  translator  has  to  express  his  best  thanks  to  two  experts,  who 
have  very  kindly  revised  the  proofs.  Mr.  Henry  Balfour  performed  this  most  neces- 
sary office  for  the  first  two  or  three  parts,  and  when  he  was  incapacitated  by  illness 
for  continuing  the  work,  Mr.  H.  Ling  Roth  was  good  enough  to  come  to  the 
rescue.  Thanks  to  his  careful  superintendence,  it  may  be  hoped  that  few  errors 
remain  in  the  text.  He  is  not  responsible  for  the  spelling  of  names,  nor  for 
mistakes  in  the  descriptions  of  the  cuts — about  some  of  which  Professor  Ratzel 
appears  to  have  been  misinformed.  These  will  mostly  be  found  corrected  in  the 
index. 


CONTENTS 

BOOK    I 

Principles  of  Ethnography 

SECTION  PAGE 

1.  The  Task  of  Ethnography      ...  ...                       3 

2.  Situation,  Aspect,  and  Numbers  of  the  Human  Race  .                                      5 

3.  The  Position  of  Natural  Races  among  Mankind  14 

4.  Nature,  Rise,  and  Spread  of  Civilization        .  .  20 

5.  Language        .                                        .  -30 

6.  Religion         .            .  ...         38 

7.  Science  and  Art          .  .             .                       65 

8.  Invention  and  Discovery         .                                        .  .76 

9.  Agriculture  and  Cattle-breeding  87 

10.  Clothing  and  Ornament                                                   .  93 

11.  Habitations    .            .  .       106 
y^2.  Family  and  Social  Customs                                                      .  .114 

13.  The  State       .            .  .             .       129 

BOOK    II 

The  American-Pacific  Group  of  Races 

A. — The  Races  of  Oceania 

1.  General  Survey  of  the  Group              ...  .             .       145 

2.  The  Races  of  the  Pacific  and  their  Migrations            ....  155 
•     3.   Physical  Qualities  and  Intellectual  Life  of  the  Polynesians  and  Micronesians  .                     185 

4.  Dress,  Weapons,  and  Implements  of  Polynesians  and  Micronesians  .  .        195 

5.  The  Negroid  Races  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans             .  214 

6.  Dress  and  Weapons  of  the  Melanesians                                     .  .                                               223 

7.  Labour,  Dwellings,  and  Food  in  Oceania  .                                               238 

8.  The  Family  and  the  State  in  Oceania                                        .  ,                     267 

9.  Religion  in  Oceania    .  .                                300 

B. — The  Australians 

10.  Australia         ....  .             .                     333 

11.  Physical  and  Mental  Character  of  the  Australians       .             .  .              .                     337 

12.  Dress,  Weapons,  and  other  belongings  of  the  Australians  .             .                     349 

13.  The  Family  and  Society  in  Australia  .  .                                               365 

14.  The  Tasmanians          .                                        ...  .                     380 

15.  Religion  of  the  Australians  383 

C— Malays  and  Malagasies 

16.  The  Malay  Archipelago          .                         .                         •  ...                    391 

17.  Bodily  Conformation  and  Intellectual  Life  of  the  Malays       ...  393 

18.  Dress,  Weapons,  and  other  Property  of  the  Malays  .             .                                  405 

19.  The  Malay  Family,  Community,  State                                                    .  .             .                                  437 

20.  The  Malagasies            .  45^ 

21.  The  Religion  of  the  Malays  4^7 


Note. — In  some  cases  the  descriptions  of  Figures  given  in  the  following  List  will  be  found  to 
differ  from  those  which  occur  in  the  text.  Where  this  is  so  the  List  may  be  taken  as 
embodying  corrections  which  will  ultimately  be  made  in  the  text. 


ILLUSTRATIONS    IN    VOLUME    I 


MAP 
Map  of  the  Races  of  Oceania  and  Australasia 


To  face  page  145 


COLOURED   PLATES 
A  BosjESMAN  Family   .  .  .  .  . 

Weapons,  Utensils,  and  Ornaments  of  American  Indians 

Polynesian  Weapons  and  Costome  ....... 

Pattern  of  Polynesian  Tapa.     (From  Cook's  Collection  in  the  Ethnographical  Museum, 
Vienna)      .  .  .  .  ... 

Weapons  and  Utensils  from  Melanesia  and  Micronesia 

An  Australian  Family-Party  from  New  South  Wales 

SowEK  ;  A  Pile-Village  on  the  North  Coast  of  New  Guinea.     (After  Raffray) 

IGORROTE  Farm  in  Luzon  (Philippines).     (From  a  water-colour  drawing  by  Dr.  Hans  Meyer) 

Malay  Fabrics  and  Weapons  .  ..... 


Frontispiece 

To  face  page    65 

155 


19s 
232 
294 
344 
393 
427 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  TEXT 

PAGE 

Eskimo  bow  made  of  bones.     (British  Museum)  ........  6 

Fijian  double  canoe.     (From  a  model  in  the  Godefifroy  Collection,  Leipzig)         ....  8 

Sandili,  king  of  the  Gaikas ;  showing  the  Semitic  type  of  the  Kaffirs.     (From  a  photograph  by  G. 

Fritsch)       ............  13 

A  Galla  monk  :  Hamitic  or  Semitic  blend.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  collection  of  Pruner  Bey)  .  13 

Young  girl  of  the  Mountain  Daniara  tribe.  (From  a  photograph  belonging  to  the  Barmen  Mission)  .  16 
Steel  Axe  of  European  make  with  old  bone  handle,  from  New  Zealand.     (Christy  Collection)    .  .  18 

Ainu  beside  one  of  their  store-huts.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  pgssession  of  Freiherr  von  Siebold, 

Vienna)       ............  19 

Ambuella  Drum.     (After  Serpa  Pinto)      .........         21 

Igorrote  Drum  from  Luzon.     (From  the  collection  of  Dr.  Hans  Meyer)  .  .  .  21 

Queensland  Aborigines.     (From  a  photograph)    ......  .23 

Indian  Mirror  from  Texas.     (Stockholm  Ethnographical  Museum)  .  .  .  .  -29 

Owner's  marks  :  the  upright  column  from  the  Ainu  (after  Von  Siebold) ;  the  others,  rudimentary  writing 

from  the  Negroes  of  Lunda  (after  M.  Buchner)      .  .  .  .  •  •         3^ 

Melanesian  sea  spirit,  from  San  Christoval.     (After  Codrington)  ....  39 

Fetish  in  Lunda  :  purpose  unknown,  perhaps  to  avert  lightning.     (After  Buchner)  .  .  42 

Entrance  to  a  fetish  hut  in  Lunda.     (After  Buchner)         ...••••         43 

Wooden  idol  from  the  Niger.     (Museum  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society)         .  .  .  -44 

A  mummy  wrapped  in  clothing,  from  Ancon.     (After  Reiss  and  Stubel)  .  .  .  •         45 

Idols  from  Hermit  Island.     (Ethnological  Museum,  Berlin)  ......         46 

supposed  idols  representing  souls,  from  Ubudjwa.     (After  Cameron)      ...  .46 

3rave  of  a  Zulu  chief.     (After  G.  Fritsch)  ....  ...        48 

b 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Fish-headed  idols  from  Easter  Island.     (Christy  Collection) 

Magicians  of  the  Loango  Coast.     (From  a  photograph  by  Dr.  Falkenstein) 

Dice  and  amulets  of  a  Bamangwato  magician.     (Ethnographical  Museum  at  Munich) 

Masks  from  New  Ireland — one-eighth  of  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology) 

Cemetery  and  sacred  tree  in  Mbinda.     (After  Stanley)     .  ... 

Boat-coffin  from  Timorlaut.     (From  a  model  in  the  Ethnographical  Museum,  Dresden) 
Ornament  on  coco-nut  shell,  from  Isabel  in  the  Solomon  Islands.     (After  Codrington)    . 
Piece  of  bamboo  with  carvings,  from  the  New  Hebrides.     (After  Codrington)     . 
Plaited  hat  of  the  Nootka  Indians,  showing  eye-ornament.     (Stockholm  Ethnographical  Museum) 
Carved  clubs  from  Lunda.     (Buchner  collection  in  the  Munich  Ethnographical  Museum) 
Tobacco-pipe  carved  out  of  slate,  from  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  British  Colombia.     (Berlin  Museum  of 
Ethnology)  ...  ... 

New  Zealand  tobacco-pipe.     (Christy  Collection) 

Ornamental  goblet  from  West  Africa.     (British  Museum) 

Chains  made  of  walrus-teeth,  from  Aleutia.     (City  Museum,  Frankfort  O.  M.)    .  .  .  . 

Kaffir  fire-sticks,  for  producing  fire  by  friction — one-fourth  real  size.     (Museum  of  the  Berlin  Mission) 
Wooden  shield  with  picture-writing,  perhaps  a  chief's  breast-plate,  from  Easter  Island.     (Christy  Col- 
lection) .  ......... 

Human  figure  and  medusa  in  walrus-ivory,  from  (?)  Tahiti.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum) . 

Shell  and  bone  fish-hooks  from  Oceania.     The  larger  one  on  the  right  from  the  north-west  coast  of 

America.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum)  ... 

Weapons  set  with  sharks'  teeth,  from  the  Gilbert  Islands.     (Munich  Ethnographical  Museum)   . 
Monbuttu  tobacco-pipe  carved  in  wood  and  ornamented  with  copper  wire — one-tenth  real  size.     (Christy 
Collection) .  .  ....... 

Carved  and  painted  figure  from  Dahomey.     (Berlin  Ethnographical  Museum) 

Zanza,  a  musical  instrument  used  over  a  great  part  of  Central  and  South  Africa  . 

Fan  warrior  with  crossbow.     (After  Du  Chailhi)  ........ 

Stick  used  by  Bushmen  in  digging  roots,  and  stone  weights  for  the  same.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology) 
Loango  negress  at  field-work.     (From  a  photograph  by  Dr.  Falkenstein)  .... 

Iron  hoe  from  Kordofan.     The  blade  is  also  used  as  currency— one-eighth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 
Axe  of  turtle-bone.     A  label  pasted  on  this,  in  writing  of  the  time  of  Captain  Cook,  describes  it  as  from 

the  Friendly  Islands.     (British  Museum)    .  . 

Woman  of  the  Azandeh,  or  Nyam-Nyams.      (From  a  photograph  by  Richard  Buchta)     . 
Princess  of  Unyoro,  dressed  in  bark-cloth.     From  a  photograph  by  Richard  Buchta) 
^'iIlage  chief  of  the  Loango,  with  wife  and  dignitary.     (From  a  photograph  by  Dr.  Falkenstein) 
Cap  made  of  a  palm-spathe,  from  Brazil.     (Munich  Ethnographical  Museum) 

Bawenda  children  belonging  to  a  mission  school.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Wange- 
niann,  Berlin)  ..... 

Fur  and  bird-skin  clothing  of  the  Ainu.     (Collection  of  Baron  von  Siebold,  Vienna) 

Woman  of  New  South  Wales.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Lieutenant  von  Bulow,  Berlin) 

Leg  ornaments  of  dogs'  teeth,  and  shell  armlet,  from  Hawaii.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum) 

Sandal  from  Unyoro.     (After  Baker) 

I,  2,  Stone  lip-plugs ;  3,  6,  necklaces ;  4,  armlet,  worn  by  the  Jur  tribes ;  5,  armlet ;  "7,  head-dress  of 

the  Shulis.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum)      .  .  .  _ 

Irenga  arm-ring,  with  sheath-one-fourth  real  size.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum) 
I.  Paddle-shaped  clubs,  probably  from  Fiji  ;  and  carved  adzes,  as  carried  by  chiefs,  from  the  Hervey 
Islands  (Munich  Ethnographical  Museum).     2.   Dagger  for  attaching  to  the  upper  arm,  from 
Lagos  (Christy  Collection,  London)  .... 

Modes  of  hairdressing,  Lovale.     (After  Cameron) 

V,'c5t  African  body-tattooing.     (From  a  drawing  by  Pechuel-Loesche) 

West  African  mode  of  filing  the  teeth.     (From  a  drawing  by  the  same) 

I.  Tortoise-shell  combs  from  Pelew-one-half  real  size  (Kubary  Collection,  Berlin).     2.  Azandeh  or 

Nyam-Nyam  shield— one-tenth  real  size  (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum) 
Caves  of  the  Bushmen.     (After  Fritsch)    .  . 

Tree-dwellings  in  South  India.     (After  Jagor) 

Fishing  village  on  the  Mekong.     (From  a  photograph)    ... 
The  so-called  '•■  Dwarf's  House '"  at  Chichen-Itza.     (After  Charnay) 
House  in  Central  Sumatra.     (After  Veth) 

Village  on  a  tongue  of  land,  Lake  Tanganyika.     (After  Cameron)  '. 

A  Zulu  family.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Wangemann) 
Interior  of  a  house  in  Korido,  New  Guinea.     (After  Raftray) 
Ashantee  drinking  cups  of  human  skulls.     (British  Museum) 


PAGE 
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74 
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76 

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85 


92 
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100 
100 

lOI 

102 


102 
103 
104 
104 

105 
107 
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no 
III 

112 
116 
127 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Human  bone  in  the  fork  of  a  branch  ;  a  cannibal  memento  from  Fiji.     (Leipzig  Museum  of  Ethnology)  129 

Zulu  chief  in  full  war-dress.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Wangemann)              .             .  130 

The  Basuto  chief  Secocoeni  with  his  court.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Wangemann)  132 

A  Dakota  chief     (From  a  photograph)    .             .                         ......  133 

Articles  belonging  to  Dyak  head-hunters  : — i.  Shield  ornamented  with  human  hair;  2.  Sword  and  knife ; 
3.   Skull  with  engraved  ornament  and  metal  plate  ;  4.   Basket  to  hold  a  skull,      i  and  2  probably 

from  Kutei ;  3  and  4  from  W.  Borneo.      (Munich  Museum)                         .                           .              .  135 

Kingsmill  Islander  in  full  armour.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology)           .  137 
Lango  chief  and  magician.     (From  a  photograph  by  Richard  Buchta)      .             .                                        .138 
Insignia,  ornamental  weapons,  and  drums  from  the  Southern  Congo  territory                    .                           -139 

Polynesian  clubs  and  insignia  of  rank                      .                                                     .                                  facing  145 

Araucanian  man  and  woman.     (From  a  photograph)        .                          .  146 

Bakairi  girl  from  the  Kulishu  river.     (After  Dr.  R.  von  den  Steinen)       ....  148 

Maori  girl.     (From  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Max  Buchner)    .             .  149 

Men  of  Ponape  in  the  Carolines.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album)  150 

Boy  of  New  Ireland.     (From  a  photograph)          .                                                                   ...  151 

Man  of  New  South  Wales.     (From  a  photograph)             .             .                                        .                           .  152 

Dyak  woman  of  Borneo.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Damann  Album)                             .                           .  153 
Bread-fruit  true  [Artocarpus  incisus) :  (a)  inflorescence,  {b)  fruit  .                                                                   .156 

Ta.ro  {Caladht?n  esculentatn) — one-half  natural  size            .                          .             .             .             .             •  iS7 

Sepulchral  monument  in  Ponape,  Caroline  Islands.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album)        .  160 

Outrigged  boat.  New  Britain.     (From  a  model  in  the  Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig)       .             .             .  161 
Boat  of  the  Mortlock  Islands,  with  outrigger  and  sail  of  rush-matting.     (After  a  model  in  the  Godeffroy 

Collection)  .......                                                     ...  162 

Boat  of  Nine,  Savage. Islands.     (After  a  model  in  the  Godeffroy  Collection)  163 

Boat  of  the  Hermit  Islands.     (From  the  same)      .             .             .  163 

Wooden  baler,  New  Zealand — one-sixth  real  size.     (British  Museum)  164 

Wooden  baler.  New  Zealand — one-fifth  real  size.     (British  Museum)        .  164 

Wooden  baler,  New  Guinea — one-fifth  real  size.     (British  Museum)         .                           .  165 

Stick  chart  from  the  Marshall  Islands.     (Godeffroy  Collection)    ....                           .  165 

Boat  of  the  Luzon  Tagals.     (From  a  model  in  Dr.  Hans  Meyer's  Collection,  Leipzig)  169 
Sumatran /ii-a/iz«.     (From  a  model  in  the  Munich  Ethnographical  Museum)         .             .  170 
Carved  boat  from  New  Zealand  ;  actual  length  8  ft.  2  in.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology)          .             -175 
I.   God  of  dances,  in  the  form  of  a  double  paddle,  Easter  Island  ;  2.  Toothed  club  from  Tutuila ;  3. 
Ancient  club  from  Tonga ;  4,  5.   Short  clubs  from  Easter   Island.      (Berlin  Museum  of  Eth- 
nology)       .             .                           .                                        ......  176 

Thakombau,  the  last  king  of  Fiji.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Herr  Max  Buchner)            .  177 
Rattan  cuirass,  throwing-sticks  of  dark  wood,  and  bark  belt,  from  Kaiser  Wilhelm's  Land.     (Berlin 

Museum)     .                           .                           .             .                                        .             .                           .  181 

Axes  from  the  D'Entrecasteaux  Islands — one-eighth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection)         .  182 

Carved  wooden  plaques,  used  as  stamps,  from  the  Fiji  Islands.     (Godeffroy  Collection)               .  183 

Jade  battle-axes  and  jade  hatchet,  insignia  of  chiefs,  from  New  Caledonia.     (Christy  Collection)  184 

Samoan  woman.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album)              .             .                                        .  186 

Women  of  the  Gilbert  Islands  and  Marshall  Islands.     (Godeffroy  Album)            .             .                           .  187 

A  Tongan.     (Godeffroy  Album)    .                           .  188 

A  man  of  Rotuma.     (Godeffroy  Album)                                                                      ....  188 

A  man  of  Pelew,  and  a  man  of  Yap  in  the  Carolines.     (Godeffroy  Album)                        .             .  189 

Dressed  skull,  from  the  Marshall  Islands.     (Godeffroy  Collection)                                       .             .             .  190 

Bamboo  flutes  from  Tahiti  and  Hawaii.     (British  Museum)           .  191 

Dancing  stilts,  from  the  Marquesas.     (Munich  Ethnographical  Museum)              .                                        .  192 
I.   Paddles  used  at  dances,  from  Easter  Island — one-thirteenth  real  size  (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology). 

2.  Wooden  dancing-stilts,  from  the  Marquesas — one-tenth  real  size  (Christy  Collection)  .  .  193 
Tattooed  Maoris.  (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Herr  Max  Buchner)  .  .  .  196 
Tattooing  instruments  from  the  Friendly  Islands — one-third  real  size.  (British  Museum)  .  197 
A  man  of  Ponape  in  the  Carolines.  (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album)  .  198 
Breastplate  of  shell  with  sling  of  human  hair — one-fourth  real  size.  (Christy  Collection)  .  .  199 
I.   Woman  of  Ponape.     2.  Woman  of  the  Paumotu  Islands.    (From  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album). 

3.  Women  of  the  Society  Islands.  (From  photograph  in  the  Damann  Album)  .  .  200 
Samoan  lady  with  hair  dressed  high.  (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)  .  .  .  201 
Man  of  the  Ruk  Islands.  (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)  .  .  .  .  203 
Combs  from  Tonga — one-fourth  real  size.  (British  Museum)  .  .  .  203 
Bone  comb  from  New  Zealand — one-third  real  size.     (British  Museum)  .....  203 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


PAGB 

Man  of  the  Ruk  Islands.     (From  the  Godefifroy  Album)  .  .  .  .        204 

Coco  and  Sago  Palms        ........  .  ■        205 

Obsidian  axes  from  Easter  Island— one-third  real  size.     (British  Museum)  .  .  .  .207 

Polynesian  implements  :   i.  Axe  from  Hawaii — one-sixth  real  size.     2.   Adze  with  carved  helve,  probably 
from  Hervey  Group  or  Paumotu  Islands.     3,  4.  Hatchets  from  the  Marquesas  and  Society  Islands 
— one-sixth  real  size.     5.  Obsidian  spear-head  from  Easter  Island — one-third  real  size.     6.  Weapon 
or  implement  from  Hawaii — one-fourth  real  size,   (i,  3,  4,  6,  Christy  Collection;  2,  S,  British 
Museum)    ............       208 

JIaori  chiefs  staCF  and  walking-sticks — one-eighth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection)  .  .  .209 

I.   Quiver  and  arrow,  said  to  be  from  the  Society  Islands — one-eighth  real  size  (Christy  Collection.) 
2.   Pin  used  in  weaving,  from  New  Zealand — two-sevenths  real  size  (British  Museum).     3.  Spear 
set  with  sharks'  teeth,  from  the  Gilbert  Islands — one-fifteenth  real  size  (Munich  Ethnographical 
Museum).     4.   Saw,  said  to  be  used  also  as  dagger,  of  ray-spine,  from  Pelcw— one-third  real 
size  (Berlin  Museum)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .210 

I.   Wooden  swords  from   Pelew  Islands — one-fifth  real  size  (British  Museum).     2.  Bow  and  arrow 
from  the  Friendly  Islands — one-third  real  size  (Christy  Collection).     3.  Saw  of  ray-spine,  said  to 
be  from  Pelew — one-third  real  size  (British  Museum.)     4.  Bone  arrow-head — real  size  (Christy 
Collection)  .......  .  ■       211 

Hawaiian  wicker-work  helmet — one-fourth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum)  .....       212 

Small  weapons  with  sharks'  teeth  from  Tonga,  dagger  and  baler  from  Hawaii,  and  gourd  bottle  from 
New  Caledonia.     (Vienna  Museum.)  ...... 

(1-3)  Necklaces  of  shell  and  beans,  with  limpet-shells.     (4  and  5)  Ear-pendants,  with  dolphin's  teeth, 
(6  and  7)   Ear-buttons  of  whale's  tooth.     (8)   Necklace  of  tortoise-shell.     (9)   Neck  ornament 
(10)  Necklace.     (11)  Wooden  fillet  for  the  head.     (12)  Ear-button  made  of  a  ray's  vertebra, 
(13,  14)  Armlets  of  black  wood  and  whale's  tooth.     (15)  Neck  ornament.     (16)  Necklace  of 
shell-disks  and  whale's  tooth.     (1-7,  Marquesas  ;  8  and  15,  Friendly  Islands  ;  9,  Hervey  Islands 
10,  II,  Society  Islands  ;  12,  Easter  Island;  13,  14,  Hawaii;  16,  Nukuor. ) 
New  Guinea  girl.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Herr  W.  Joost,  Berlin) 
Man  of  New  Ireland.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album) 
Fijian  lady.     (From  Godeffroy  Album)     ...  ... 

Fijian  gentleman.     (From  Godeffroy  Album)        ... 
Woman  of  the  Anchorites  Islands.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album) 
Woman  of  the  Anchorites  Islands.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album) 

Musical  instrument  from  New  Ireland— one-third  real  size.     (Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig) 
I.  Spatula  for  betel-lime  from  New  Guinea — one-half  real  size.     2.  Drum  from  Pigville  in  New  Guinea 
—one-eighth  real  size  (Christy  Collection).     3.   Drums  from  Ambrym  in  the   New  Hebrides 
(after  Codrington)  ........ 

Carved  coco-nut  from  New  Guinea — one-half  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 
New  Hebridean  ornament  (enlarged)         ..... 

Bit  of  etched  design  on  a  coco-nut,  from  Isabel  Island  in  the  Solomons.     (After  Codrino-ton) 

Wigs  of  human  hair  worn  in  battle,  from  Vanna  Levu.     (Frankfort  City  Museum) 

Head-dress  like  an  eye-shade  from  New  Guinea— one-fifth  real  size.     (British  Museum) 

Fiji  warrior  in  a  wig.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album) 

Nose-ornament,  breastplate,  and  arm-ring  of  boar's   tusks,  from  New  Guinea— one-eighth   real  size! 

(Christy  Collection)  ••■•.. 

Shell  plaques  for  adorning  the  breast  and  forehead.     (Christy  Collection) 
Weapons  from  the  Admiralty  Islands.     (Christy  Collection) 

New  Caledonian  clubs  and  a  painted  dance  club  from  the  New  Hebrides.     (Vienna  Museum) 
I.   Bow  from  the  Solomon  Islands  (Berlin  Museum).     2.   Bow  and  arrows  from  North-west  New  Guinea 
—one-tenth  real  size  (Christy  Collection).     3.   Arrow-heads  from  the  Solomon  Islands  (Godeffroy 
Collection,  Leipzig)  ■  •  .  .  . 

Dagger  of  cassowary  bone,  from  North-west  New  Guinea— one-fourth  real  size. "   (Christy  Collection)   '       234 
I.  Carved  dance-shield  from  East  New  Guinea-one-fifth  real  size.     2.  Shield  from  Teste  in  New  Guinea 

— one-tenth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 

I.  Wooden  shield,  bound  with  plaited  rattan,  with  black  and  white  pattern,  from  Friedrich-Wilhelm's 

Harbour.     2.  Carved  shield  from  Hatzfeld  Harbour.     3.   Wooden  battle-shield  from  Astrolabe 

Bay.     4.  Wooden  battle-shield  from  Trobriand.     5.   Motu-motu  shield  from  Freshwater  Bay— 

one-twelfth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology)        ...  216 

Wooden  dish  from  Hawaii.     (British  Museum)  .  '  o 

Mats  from  Tongatabu.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum)  ■  ■  ■  \a 

Stone  pestles  from  Hawaii— one-fourth  real  size.     (Cook  Collection,  Vienna  Museum)   .  240 

Earthenware  vessels  from  the  Fiji  Islands.     (Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig)        .  .  240 


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216 
217 
218 
219 
220 
221 


221 
222 
222 
223 
224 
224 
225 

226 
228 
230 
231 


235 


LTST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Carved  spatulas  for  betel-lime  from  Eastern  New  Guinea— two-sevenths  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 
Utensils  from  Hawaii  (Arning  Collection,  Berlin  Museum):    i.   Calabash-carrier  of  coco-nut  fibre. 

2,  3.    Calabashes  with  pattern  burnt  in,  stoppered  with  conus  shells.     ^.  Beaters  of  kauila  wood. 

5.  Stamping  sticks  for  tapa.     6.  Oil  lamps  of  lava.     7.  Decoration  for  chiefs,  a  sling  of  human 

hair  with  carved  cachalot's  tooth.     8.  Necklace  of  similar  teeth  from  Fiji.     9-12.  Straw  plaiting, 

probably  a  modern  importation.      1-8,  one-fifth  to  one-sixth  ;  9-12,  one-half  real  size 
Wickerwork  (basket,  pouches,  and  fly-whisk),  from  Tongatabu.     (Cook  Collection,  Vienna  Ethno 

graphic  Museum)    .......... 

Polynesian  fan  and  fly-whisks,  insignia  of  chiefs,  probably  from  Tongatabu.     (Cook  Collection) 
Wicker  fans  probably  from  Samoa.     (British  Museum)     ...... 

Wooden  bowl  for  food,  from  the  Admiralty  Islands — one-eighth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 

1.  Bamboo  water-vessels  from  New  Guinea — one-third  real  size.     2.  Carved  gourd  used  for  betel-box 

from  the  Trobriand  Islands — one-third  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 
Carved  bamboo  box  from  Western  New  Guinea — three-fourths  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 
Chisel  and  shell  auger,  from  New  Britain.      (Berlin  Museum)      .... 
I.   Fishing  trimmer  from  the  Solomon  Islands — one-eighth  real  size  (Christy  Collection).     2.   Floats. 

sinkers,  baler,  and  war-spears,  from  New  Caledonia  (Vienna  Museum) 
A  New  Zealand  trawl-net.     (Munich  Ethnographical  Museum) 

Shark-trap  with  wooden  float  from  Fiji.     (Berlin  Museum)  .... 

Smoked  fish  from  Massiha  in  East  New  Guinea — one-sixth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 
Cuttle-fish  baits  from  the  Society  Islands — two-fifths  real  size.     (Christy  Collection  and  Berlin  Museum) 
Pots  and  implements  (the  two  calabashes  for  betel-lime)  from  the  Admiralty  Islands,  also  a  shell  horn — 

one-fifth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection)     .  .  .... 

Covered  vessel  in  shape  of  a  bird,  inlaid  with  shell,  from  the  Pelew  Islands.     (British  Museum) 
Another  vessel  of  the  same  material.     (British  Museum)  ..... 

New  Caledonian  hut  (Qu.  sacred)  after  a  model ;  doorposts  and  roof-ornament  supplied  from  originals 

in  the  Berlin  Museum         ......... 

Roof-ornaments  and  shoring-props  from  New  Caledonia.     (Vienna  Museum) 
Mats  from  Tongatabu.     (Cook  Collection,  Vienna)  .... 

House  in  the  Arfak  village  of  Memiwa,  New  Guinea.     (After  Raffray)    . 

Stool  from  Dorey  in  New  Guinea — one-seventh  real  size.     (Christy  Collection)  . 

New  Caledonian  head-stools.     (Vienna  Museum)  ...... 

Carved  and  painted  rafters  from  common  halls  {pais)  in  Ruk.     (Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig)  . 

I.  Gourd  bottle  from  the  D'Entrecasteaux  Islands — one-third  real  size.     2.  Head-stool  from  Yap — one 

fourth  real  size.     (Finsch  Collection,  Berlin)  ...... 

Chiefs  wife  of  Puapua,  Samoa.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album)  . 

Tongan  ladies.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)      .  .  .... 

Old  Tongan  woman.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)         ..... 

Princess  Ruth  of  Hawaii.     (From  a  photograph  belonging  to  Professor  Buchner,  Munich) 
Women  of  Ponape  in  the  Carolines.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)  .... 

A  Tagal  village  :  Luzon  in  the  Philippines.     (From  a  photograph)  .... 

Fly-whisk,  from  the  Society  Islands — one-sixth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection)  . 

Fly-whisks  (chief's  insignia),  from  the  Society  Islands — one-fifth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 

Fly-whisk  (insignia  of  a  chief),  from  Samoa — one-eighth  real  size.     (British  Museum)     . 

Toy  paddles,  from  New  Zealand — one-sixth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 

Chief  of  Tae  in  the  Mortlocks.     (Godeffroy  Album)         ...... 

"  Kahile"  or  fly-flap,  carried  by  the  attendants  of  men  of  rank,  from  Hawaii.     (Christy  Collection) 
King  Lunalilo  of  Hawaii.     (From  a  photograph)  ...... 

Samoan  warrior  in  to/a-clothing.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)  .... 

Ear-button  from  the  Marquesas  and  amulet  from  Tahiti — two-thirds  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 
Warrior  of  the  Solomon  Islands.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)  .  .... 

Fijian  warrior.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album)      ....... 

Coco-palm  leaf,  as  a  token  of  peace,  from  Venus  Hook  in  New  Guinea ;  and  paddle-shaped  spoon, 

eight  feet  in  length,  for  stirring  food  at  feasts,  carved  with  a  Maori  design,  from  the  Normanby 

Islands.     (Finsch  Collection,  Berlin)  ....... 

Sacrificial  knife,  available  also  as  an  instrument  of  torture,  from  Easter  Island — one-half  real  size. 

(Berlin  Museum)    .......... 

Human  lower  jaw  set  as  an  arm-ring,  from  New  Guinea.     (Christy  Collection)  . 

Ancestral  image  {Korvar)  from  New  Guinea — one-fourth  real  size.     (British  Museum)   . 

A  Fiji  Islander.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album)  ..... 

I.  Sacred  drum  with  carving  from  High  Island,  Austral  Group — one-fourth  real  size  (Christy  Collection) 

2.  Stick  calendar  of  the  Ngati  Ranki  tribe  in  New  Zealand  (British  Museum) 


PAGE 
241 


242 


THE   HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Charms  made  of  human  bone,  votive  bunches  of  hair,  and  turtle  skull,  from  a  temple  in  the  Admiralty 

Islands — one-fifth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection)  .... 
Ancestral  images  from  Easter  Island— one-tenth  real  size.     (Munich  Museum)    . 

Carved  post  from  a  house  from  New  Zealand.     (Christy  Collection)         .  .  .  •  • 

Idols  carved  in  wood— one-tenth  real  size.   (London  Missionary  Society's  Collection,  now  British  Museum). 

I.   From  Rarotonga,  Hervey  Group.     2.   Rurutu,  Austral  Group.     3.   From  Aitutaki,  Hervey 

Group 
Sacred  place  in  Dorey,  New  Guinea.     (After  Raffray)      . 
Love  charm  from  New  Guinea— one-fifth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection) 
Article  employed  in  Melanesian  rites,  for  holding  objects  of  use  in  magic— one-half  real  size.     (Berlin 

Museum)    .  .  ... 

Human  figure  of  shells  and  hermit-crabs,  used  as  a  temple-ornament  in  New  Ireland— one-eighth  real 

size.     (Berlin  Museum)  •  ..... 

Child-mummy  on  the  bier  used  for  burial,  from  Torres  Straits— one-sixth  real  size.      (Berlin  Museum) 
South  Australian  native  women.     (From  a  photograph)  ...... 

Eucalyptus  Forest  in  South  Australia.     (From  the  account  of  the  voyage  of  the  "  Novara  ") 
Marsilia  Druminondi  ....  .... 

Queensland  girl.     (From  a  photograph  by  C.  Giinther)    . 

Young  Queensland  man.     (From  a  photograph  by  C.  Giinther)  .... 

Native  of  New  South  Wales.     (From  a  photograph)         .... 

Billy  Bull  and  Emma  Dugal,  natives  of  South  Australia.     (From  a  photograph) 

Message-sticks  with  picture-writing,  from  West  Australia— one-third  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 

Woman's  apron  of  emu  feathers.     (Berlin  Museum)  .  .  ... 

Wooden  belt,  said  to  be  Australian,  but  perhaps  from  the  New  Hebrides — one-fourth  real  size.     (Berlin 

Museum)     ...  .  .  ... 

Necklace  of  kangaroo  teeth,  probably  from  West  Victoria — one-sixth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 
Womrteras  or  throwing-sticks  of  the  Australians — one-fifth  real  size.     (Berlin   Museum  and  British 

Museum)    ...  ... 

Wooden  spears,  mostly  from  North  Australia  ;  the  second  and  third  from  the  right  are  fish-spears — one^ 

fifth  real  size.     (British  Museum  and  Berlin  Museum) 
New  South  Wales  men,  showing  breast  scars.     (From  a  photograph) 
Bamboo  bow,  from  Torres  Straits  Islands — one-thirteenth  real  size.     (British  Museum) 
Arrow-head   from   New   Guinea,   Torres   Straits — fourth -fifths   real   size.      (Dresden    Ethnographical 

Museum)     .  ..... 

Stone  axes ;  the  three  above  from  North  Australia,  the  lower  from  Queensland  or  Victoria — one-sixth 

real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 
Boomerangs  and  boomerang-shaped  clubs.     The  stick  in  the  middle  is  of  uncertain  use — one-tenth  real 

size.     (British  Museum  and  Berlin  Museum)  ..... 

Axes  of  stone  or  horse-shoe  iron  from  Queensland— one-fifth  real  size.     (British  Museum) 
Stone  club,  said  to  be  Australian,  possibly  from  New  Britain.     (British  Museum) 
North  Australian  with  spears,  axe,  and  club.     (From  a  photograph) 
Queensland  canoe.     (Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig)         ... 
Striking  and  throwing  clubs— one-eighth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 
New  South  Wales  men,  showing  breast-scars.      (From  a  photograph) 
Australian  bags  of  woven  grass— one-sixth  real  size.     (British  Museum)  . 
Opossum  rug  ;  one-eighth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum)     . 
New  South  Wales  women  and  child.     (From  a  photograph) 
Queensland  girls,  one  showing  "  scar-tattooing."     (From  a  photograph) 
Young  Queensland  man  with  "  scar-tattooing."     (From  a  photograph) 
Melanesian  axes,  clubs,  and  hammers.     (British  Museum) 
New  South  Wales  woman  with  "  scar-tattooing."     (From  a  photograph) 
Austrahan  magic-sticks.     (Vienna  Museum)  .... 

\i'illiam  Lanney,  the  last  Tasmanian.     (From  a  photograph) 
Truganina,  the  last  Tasnianian  woman.     (From  a  photograph) 
7i.ustraliau  shields .... 

Australian  "  bull-roarers  "—one-fourth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 
A  Battak  of  Sumatra.     (From  a  photograph) 
A  Dyak  of  Borneo.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Damann  Album) 
Weapon   used  by  watchmen  in  Java  to  catch  persons  running   amok. 

Collection) . 
A  Calinga  of  Luzon  in  the  Philippines.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Damann  Album)    . 
Tabongs,  v/ith  Rejang  characters,  from  Sumatra— four-fifths  real  size.     (Munich  Museum) 


305 
306 
310 


(Stockholm   Ethnographical 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Magic  staves  of  the  Battaks,  used  especially  for  weather-magic,  and  also  borne  in  war — one-eightli  real 

size.     (Leipzig  and  Dresden  Museum)        .  .  •  ■  403 

A  Calinga  woman  of  Luzon.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Damann  Album)  406 

Toangos  of  Northern  Sumatra.     (From  a  photograph)      ...  .  4^7 

Tangoi  or   South-East  Bornean  head-dress — one-third  and  one-seventeenth  real  size.      (Frankfort 

City  Museum)  ....  ...  408 

Hats  worn  by  chiefs  of  Kutei  tribes  in  Borneo.     (Munich  Museum)  .  .  409 

Igorrote  tattooing  :  a,  b,  designs  on  the  calves  of  the  legs  ;  c,  d,  on  the  stomach  ;  e,  front  view  ;  /,  back 

view  of  a  .Swrz'^ ;  ^,  a  woman's  arm.     (From  drawings  by  Dr.  Hans  Meyer)        .  .  .       410 

Igorrote  necklaces,  with  (a)  tweezers  for  pulling  out  hair ;   (b)  pendants  of  crocodile  teeth — one-third 

real  size.     (From  Dr.  Meyer's  Collection)  ...  .  .  411 

Ring  worn  by  the  Igorrotes  on  the  upper  arm  when  dancing — one-third  real  size.     (From  the  same)      .       411 
Malay  weapons :   I,  2.   Hat  and  shield  from  Mindanao,  in  the  Philippines.     3.  Quiver  with  poisoned 
arrows   from   Celebes.     4.    A  champion's  shield  from   Solor.     5.    Sword   from    Gorontalo   in 
Celebes.     6.  Mandaii  of  the  Kahayan  River  Dyaks.     7.  Outfit  from  Ombai.     8.   Spears  from 
Java.     (Dresden  Collection)  ....  .  .  412 

Bows  and  arrows  of  the  Negritos  in  Luzon — one-twelfth  real  size.     (Dr.  Meyer's  Collection)      .  .       413 

Bow  from  Sulu  of  Asiatic  origin,  and  Negrito  harpoon — one-twelfth  real  size.     (Dresden  Collection)  414 

Blow-gun,  arrows,  and  quiver,  from  Borneo — one-fourth  real  size.     (Stockholm  Museum)  .  414 

Blow-gun,  small  quiver,  and  spears  of  the  Kahayan  Dyaks  of  South  Borneo  ;  bow,  arrows,  and  quiver 

from  Poggi.     (Munich  Museum)    .  .  .  .  415 

Mandaus  or  swords,  krisses,  and  knives  :    i ,  from  South  Celebes ;    2,  from  the  Batang-lupar  Dyaks  ; 
3,  from  Java ;  4,  from  Gilolo  ;  5,  from  Java  ;  6,  from  the  Kahayan  Dyaks  ;  7,  from  Mentawei ; 
8,  from  the  Rejangs  of  Sumatra — one-sixth  real  size.     (Munich  Museum)  416 

Krisses  :  i,  from  Celebes  ;  2,  said  to  be  from  Bali — one-fourth  real  size.     (Munich  Museum)  418 

Dagger  from  Borneo — one-fifth  real  size.     (Royal  Museum,  Leyden)       .  .  .       419 

I,  Sling  and  sheath  of,  z,  Igorrote  chopping-knife.     3.    Guinan  hatchet,  from  Luzon — one-sixth  real 

size.     (From  Dr.  Hans  Meyer's  Collection)  .....  .       419 

Igorrote  and  Guinan  spears  and  shields — one-tenth  real  size.     (From  Dr.  Hans  Meyer's  Collection)       .       420 
Spears  and  shields — i  and  7,  from  Nias  ;    2,  from  Mentawei ;    3,  4,  6,  from  West  Borneo  ;    5,  from 

Gorontalo;  8,  from  Borneo.     (Munich  Museum)  .  ...  .       421 

Shield,   blow-gun,    spear,    and   swords   of   the   Torabjas   in    Central    Celebes  —  one-sixth    real    size. 

(Frankfort  City  Museum)   .  .  .  .  .  .  422 

Mail-coats  worn  by  the  Dyaks  of  South-East  Borneo        .  .  .  423 

Malay  utensils  :   i.   Comb  from  Timor.     2.  Knife  from  the  Philippines.     3.  Sickle  from  Java.     4.   Cow- 
bells from  Sumatra.     5.  Brasier  and  rice-pot  from  Java.     6.  Basket  from  Celebes.     7.   Rice  basket 
from  Java,   for  cooling  steamed  rice  in  the  cover.     8.  Brass  pipe  of  the  Battaks.     (Dresden 
Ethnographical  Museum)    .  .  ....  424 

A  house  in  Sumatra.     (From  a  model  in  the  Dresden  Museum)  .  425 

Plough  used  by  the  Triamans  of  Bencoolen.     (Dresden  Museum)  .  425 

Agricultural  implements  used  by  the  Igorrotes  :    I.   Rice-knife,     z.  Digging-stick  (i,  one-half ;  2,  one- 
tenth  real  size).     (From  Dr.  Meyer's  Collection)  ......       426 

Hoes  from — l,  Singapore  ;  2,  Sumatra — one-fourth  real  size.     (Munich  Museum)  .  .  .       428 

Battak  hoes  from  Sumatra — one-seventh  real  size.     (Leipzig  Museum  of  Ethnology)  429 

Javanese  buffalo-cart.     (From  a  photograph)        .  ...  430 

I.  Wooden  tureen  and  spoon   from  Luzon  —  one-third  real  size  (from  Dr.  Meyer's  Collection),     z. 

Sumatran  saddle  (Dresden  Museum)  .....  .  .       431 

Dish-cover  of  armadillo  scales  from  Sumatra — one-tenth  real  size.     (Stoclcholm  Museum)  432 

Dish-cover  from  South-East  Borneo.     (Stockholm  Museum)  ....  432 

I.   Bamboo  betel  and  tobacco  boxes  from  West   Sumatra — one-third   real  size   (Munich  Museum). 

2.   Igorrote  spindle — one-third  real  size  (from  Dr.  Meyer's  Collection)  .  .  .       433 

Tobacco  pipes  used  by  the  Igorrotes  and   Guinansof  Luzon  —  two-thirds  real  size.     (Dr.   Meyer's 

Collection).  ........  434 

Carved  wooden  sirih  box  from  Deli,  East  Sumatra — one-fourth  real  size.     (From  a  drawing)     .  .       434 

I.   Malay  loom  (from  a  photograph).     2.   Sack  carried  by  the  Igorrotes  of  Luzon — one-eighth  real  size. 

(Dr.  Meyer's  Collection)     ......  .  -435 

Basket  of  a  Dyak  head-hunter,  with  half  a  skull  hanging  on  it.     (Munich  Museum)  .  .       448 

Small  head-basket  used  by  Guinans  of  Luzon— one-third  real  size.     (Dr.  Meyer's  Collection)  449 

Chief  and  dignitary  of  Nias.     (From  a  photograph)  ...  .  450 

Malagasy  of  Negroid  type.     (From  a  photograph  in  Pruner  Bey's  Collection)      .  454 

Malagasy  of  Negroid  type.     (Same  source)  ....  ■       455 

Sakalava  musical  instrument— one-third  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum)  .  .  45^ 


THE  HISTORY  OP  MANKIND 


Hova  guitar  and  powder-horn.     (Dresden  Museum) 

Malagasy  necklace  of  carved  horn.     (Missionary  Society's  Museum) 

House  of  a  Hova  chief.     (From  the  Globus)  ... 

Fenced  farm-house  in  Imerina,  Madagascar.     (After  Ellis)  .... 

Rice-mortar  and  paddle  from  Madagascar.     (Stockholm  Ethnographical  Collection) 

Madagascar  hubble-bubble,  in  the  African  style — one-fifth  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) . 

Drawing  of  a  herd  of  cattle,  on  the  bamboo  drinking-cup  represented  on  opposite  page.   (Berlin  Museum) 

Woven  pouch  from  Madagascar — one-half  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum)    .... 

Hova  drinking-cups  of  bamboo,  used  also  for  tobacco-boxes — one-half  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 
Antananarivo,  the  Hova  capital.     (From  a  photograph)  ...... 

Rainitnalavona  and  Rainilaiarivona,  two  Prime  Miriisters  of  Radama  H.      (After  Ellis)  . 
Igorrote  ancestral  image — one-twelfth  real  size.     (From  Dr.  Meyer's  Collection) 
Sacred  jar,  probably  from  Borneo — one-sixth  real  size.     (Leyden  Museum) 

Wax  figure  of  Buffalo  ;   perhaps  an  amulet  of  the  Guinans — one-half  real  size.     (From  Dr.   Meyer 
Collection)  .......... 

Talisman  from  North  Borneo  and  ancestral  image  from  Nias.     (Dresden  Museum) 

Rosary  with  amulet  from  Madagascar — one-half  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum) 

Rainitsontsoraka — a  Christian  martyr  in  Madagascar.     (After  Ellis)        .... 


457 
458 

459 
460 
461 
461 
462 
462 
463 
464 
465 
468 
470 

471 
473 
479 
480 


BOOK  I 
PRINCIPLES    OF    ETHNOGRAPHY 


§  I.  THE  TASK  OF  ETHNOGRAPHY 

Geographical  conceptions  and  historical  considerations  of  which  account  has  to  be  taken  in  dealing  with  our 
subject — Mankind  a  whole — The  task  of  ethnography  is  to  demonstrate  the  cohesion  of  the  human  race. 

Our  business  in  this  work  is  to  impart  a  knowledge  of  mankind  as  we  find  it 
to-day  throughout  the  earth.  Owing  to  the  long-established  practice  of  con- 
sidering with  any  attention  lio  races  save  the  most  progressive  and  most  highly 
civilized,  until  it  is  from  these  almost  exclusively  that  we  form  our  notion  of  man- 
kind, and  of  their  doings  that  make  up  the  history  of  the  world,  it  becomes  the 
duty  of  ethnography  to  apply  itself  all  the  more  faithfully  to  the  neglected 
lower  strata  of  humanity.  Besides  that,  its  aim  must  also  be  to  take  up  this 
conception  of  humanity  not  in  a  merely  superficial  way,  just  so  far  as  the  races 
have  grown  up  in  the  shade  of  the  dominant  civilized  peoples,  but  to  trace 
actually  among  these  lower  strata  the  processes  which  have  rendered  possible  the 
transition  to  the  higher  developments  of  to-day.  Ethnography  must  acquaint 
us  not  only  with  what  man  is,  but  with  the  means  by  which  he  has  become 
what  he  is,  so  far  as  the  process  has  left  any  traces  of  its  manifold  inner 
workings.  It  is  only  so  that  we  shall  get  a  firm  grasp  of  the  unity  and  com- 
pleteness of  the  human  race.  With  regard  to  the  course  that  our  investigation 
must  follow,  we  have  especially  to  remember  that  the  difference  of  civilization  /v 
which  divides  two  groups  of  mankind  may  bear  no  kind  of  relation  to  the 
difference  of  their  endowments.  This  will  be  the  last  difference  which  we  shall 
have  to  think  of;  the  first  points  to  consider  will  be  differences  in  development 
and  surroundings.  We  shall  therefore  bestow  a  thorough  consideration  upon 
the  external  surroundings  of  the  various  races,  and  endeavour  pari  passu  to 
trace  the  historical  development  of  the  circumstances  in  which  we  find  them 
to-day.  The  geographical  conception  of  their  surroundings,  and  the  historical 
consideration  of  their  development,  will  thus  go  hand  in  hand.  It  is  only  from  >/ 
the  combination  of  the  two  that  a  just  estimate  can  be  formed. 

Our  growth  in  intelligence  and  culture,  all  that  we  call  the  progress  of 
civilization,  may  better  be  compared  with  the  upward  shoot  of  a  plant  than  with 
the  unconfined  flight  of  a  bird  ;  we  remain  ever  bound  to  the  earth,  and  the  twig 
can  only  grow  on  the  stem.  Human  nature  may  raise  its  head  aloft  in  the  pure 
ether,  but  its  feet  must  ever  rest  on  the  ground,  and  the  dust  must  return  to  the 
dust.  Hence  the  necessity  of  attention  to  the  geographical  point  of  view.  As 
for  historical  considerations,  we  can  point  to  races  which  have  remained  the  same 
for  thousands  of  years,  and  have  changed  their  place,  their  speech,  their  physical 
appearance,  their  mode  of  life  not  at  all,  their  religion  and  their  knowledge  only 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


superficially.  Herodotus  tells  us  about  a  race  of  Troglodytes,  who  dwelt  near  trie 
Garamantes,  the  inhabitants  of  the  modern  Fezzan.  They  were  active  and  swift- 
footed,  and  spoke  a  language  almost  unknown  beyond  their  own  boundaries. 
Here  we  have  Nachtigal's  Tebus  or  Tedas,  who  to  this  day  inhabit  the  natural 
caverns  in  their  rocks,  are  renowned  far  and  wide  for  activity  and  fleetness  of  foot, 
and  speak  a  language  which  has  hardly  extended  itself  beyond  the  walls  of  their 
rocky  fortress.  Thus  for  2000  years  at  least,  and  for  all  we  know  much  longer, 
they  have  lived  in  just  the  same  way.  They  are  to-day  no  poorer,  no  richer,  no 
wiser,  no  more  ignorant,  than  they  have  been  these  thousands  of  years.  They 
have  acquired  nothing  in  addition  to  what  they  possessed  then.  Each  generation 
has  repeated  the  history  of  the  one  before  it,  and  that  repeated  its  predecessors  ; 
as  we  say,  they  have  made  no  progress.  They  have  always  been  men  with  certain 
gifts — strong,  active,  having  virtues  and  defects  of  their  own.  There  they  stand,  a 
fragment  of  bygone  ages.  In  the  same  space  of  time  we  have  emerged  from  the 
darkness  of  our  forests  on  to  the  stage  of  history  ;  we  have  made  our  name,  alike 
in  peace  and  war,  honoured  and  dreaded  by  all  nations.  But  have  we  as  individuals 
undergone  any  so  great  change  ?  Are  we  in  physical  or  intellectual  power,  in 
virtue,  in  capacity,  any  further  ahead  of  our  generations  of  ancestors  than  the 
Tubus  of  theirs  ?  It  may  be  doubted.  The  main  difference  lies  in  the  fact  that 
we  have  laboured  more,  acquired  more,  lived  more  rapidly,  and  above  all,  have 
kept  what  we  have  acquired  and  known  how  to  use  it.  Our  inheritance  is  larger, 
fuller  of  young  life  ;  and  therefore  a  comparison  of  national  positions  gives  us  a 
higher  standing  among  mankind,  and  indicates  too  how  and  why  we  have  become 
what  we  are,  and  what  road  we  must  take  in  order  to  advance  a  stage  farther. 

Throughout  all  national  judgments  we  find  unmistakably  as  a  fundamental 
fact  the  feeling  of  individual  self-esteem  causing  us  to  take  by  preference  the 
unfavourable  view  of  our  neighbours.  We  must  at  least  try  to  be  just ;  and  the 
study  of  mankind  may  aid  in  that  direction,  impressing  upon  us  as  it  does  the 
important  principle  that  in  all  dealings  with  men  and  nations  we  ought,  before 
forming  a  judgment,  to  consider  that  all  their  thoughts,  feelings,  and  actions  bear 
an  essentially  graded  character.  In  one  stage  or  another  anything  may  happen, 
-  and  mankind  is  divided  not  by  gaps,  but  by  steps.  The  task  of  ethnography  is 
therefore  to  indicate,  not  in  the  first  instances  the  distinctions,  but  the  points  of 
transition,  and  the  intimate  affinities  which  exist ;  for  mankind  is  one  whole, 
though  very  variously  cultured.  And  if  it  cannot  be  too  often  proclaimed  that 
a  nation  consists  of  individuals,  which  are  and  remain  in  all  its  operations  its 
ultimate  elements,  there  is  yet  so  great  a  conformity  of  disposition  among  these 
individuals  that  the  thoughts  which  go  forth  from  one  man  are  as  certain  to  find 
an  echo  in  others,  if  they  can  succeed  in  reaching  them,  as  the  same  seed  is  certain 
to  produce  like  fruits  in  like  soils. 

But  the  tracing  of  the  road  above  mentioned  is  of  great  importance. 
Elementary  ideas  have  an  irresistible  power  of  expansion,  and  there  is  no  reason 
in  the  nature  of  things  why  they  should  come  to  a  stop  at  the  hut  of  a  Kaffir  or 
the  fireplace  of  a  Botocudo.  But  the  obstacles  which  hinder  or  delay  their  travels 
are  endless  ;  and  besides,  as  they  arise  from  life  and  accompany  life,  they  are  like 
all  life,  changeable.  Herein  is  a  main  cause  of  the  differences  among  races  and  of 
a  mass  of  ethnological  problems.  One  may  even  say  that  in  the  geographical  dis- 
tribution of  mankind  to  begin  with,  and   then  in  the  manner  in  which  they  have 


SITUATION,  ASPECT,  AND  NUMBERS   OF   THE  HUMAN  RACE  5 

acquired  culture  and  the  means  of  culture  from  the  production  of  fire  up  to  the 
loftiest  ideas  of  the  historical  nations,  lies  the  key  to  the  history  of  primitive  man. 
We  can  conceive  a  universal  history  of  civilization,  which  should  assume 
a  point  of  view  commanding  the  whole  earth,  in  the  sense  of  surveying  the  history 
of  the  extension  of  civilization  throughout  mankind  ;  it  would  penetrate  deep  and 
far  into  what  is  usually  called  ethnography,  the  study  of  the  human  race.  For 
tjie  further  inquiry  reaches  into  the  depths  of  prehistoric  peoples  and  those  that 
are  outside  of  history,  the  more  will  it  meet  in  every  sphere  and  on  every  level  of 
civilization  with  essentially  the  same  single  form,  which  long  ago,  before  the 
conditions  existed  for  the  development  of  numerous  separate  centres  of  civilization, 
was .  imparted  by  one  race  to  another  over  the  earth ;  and  this  it  wih  regard  as 
in  close  connection  with  mankind  of  to-day,  with  the  race  which  has  raised  all 
ifg  great  new  creations  upon  that  common  foundation,  of  which  many  a  fragment 
still  remains  unaltered  in  its  hands.  At  no  distant  future,  no  one  will  write  a 
history  of  the  world  without  touching  upon  those  peoples  which  have  not  hitherto 
been  regarded  as  possessing  a  history  because  they  have  left  no  records  written 
or  grav^  in  stone.  History  consists  of  action  ;  and  how  unimportant  beside 
this  is  TOe  question  of  writing  or  not  writing,  how  wholly  immaterial,  beside  the 
facts  of  doing  and  making,  is  the  word  that  describes  them.  Here  also  ethno- 
graphy will  show  the  way  to  juster  notions. 


§  2.  SITUATION,  ASPECT,  AND  NUMBERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE 

The  inhabited  world — The  races  of  the  fringe — East  and  West — Old  and  New  Worlds — North  and  South — 
The  Ethiopian  region — Mutual  influence  of  Northern  and  Southern  races — Insular  character  of  lands — 
Importance  of  seafaring — Water  on  the  face  of  the  globe — Unity  of  the  human  race — The  number  and 
laws  of  mankind — Movements  of  races — Extinction  of  native  races  through  contact  with  cultivation,  and 
by  themselves — Racial  distinctions — Half-breeds. 

The  human  race  inhabits  countries  and  islands  in  the  temperate  and  torrid 
regions  of  the  earth  ;  some  par1?>are  found  in  the  frigid  zone  of  the  northern 
hemisphere.  Its  place  of  abode  forms  a  zone  of  varying  breadth,  lying  between 
the  extreme  latitudes  of  80°  north  and  55"  south.  As  regards  the  two  great 
oceans,  the  northern  shores  of  the  Pacific  (where  Asia  and  America  come  within 
fifty  miles  of  each  other)  form  part  of  the  inhabited  region,  as  also  a  broad  band 
in  the  niiddle,  remarkable  for  the  abundance  of  its  habitable  islands.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Atlantic,  until  the  Scandinavian  colonisation  of  the  Faroes  and 
Iceland,  formed  a  broad  gap  in  the  belt  of  human  habitation.  We  can  thus 
distinguish  in  the  inhabited  world,  the  surface  of  which,  not  counting  seas,  may 
be  taken  at  about  fourteen  millions  of  square  miles,  northern  and  southern  borders 
formed  by  the  uninhabitable  ice-deserts  of  the  polar  regions,  eastern  and  western 
borders,  between  which  lies  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  races  dwelling  in  these 
confines  look  out  into  emptiness,  and  have  not  neighbours  on  every  side,  but 
when  their  settlements  have  been  pushed  far  forwards,  find  themselves  in  an  isolated 
position  ;  whence  a  lack  in  their  case  of  ethnographical  interest.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  groups  of  races  are  so  situated  as  to  have  enjoyed  the  important 
advantages  of  an  intermediate  position  ;  such  are  some  of  the  races  that  we  meet 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


with  in  the  Pacific,  especially  toward  its  northern  border,  in  the  districts  bordering 
on  the  Mediterranean,  in  Central  America.  From  the  position  and  form  of  the 
inhabited  world,  it  is  clear  that  the  northern  hemisphere  contains  a  larger  number 
of  persons  than  the  southern  ;  that  it  offers  wider  districts  to  open  up,  with  more 
sides  of  contact,  of  more  various  endowments,  and  therewith  richer  possibilities ; 
in  short,  that  in  position,  form,  and  dimensions,  it  has  from  early  time  had  all 
the  advantages  as  regards  the  development  of  humanity. 

The  distribution  of  man,  and  equally  that  of  plants  and  animals,  is  based,  in 
the  northern  hemisphere,  on  interdependence  ;  in  the  southern  on  separation.  If 
we  look  at  mankind  as  a  whole,  we  can  see  that  its  northern  members  lie  in  a 
widespread  mutually  operative  connection  ;  its  southern  in  remote  separation.  If 
we  look  at  the  races,  we  find  the  Negroids  belonging  to  the  south,  the  Mongoloids 
and  Whites  to  the  north.  Civilization  has  reached  its  highest  developments  north 
of  the  equator.  We  shall  find  similar  contrasts  in  ethnography  ;  for  example,  the 
bowless  races  belong  to  the  southern  groups,  whereas  in  the  north  we  find  bows 
and  arrows,  not  only  all  over  a  broad  zone,  but  on  fundamentally  the  same  model, 
from  Lapland  to  East  Greenland  and  Mexico.  ^ 


Eskimo  bow  made  of  bones  (British  Museum). 

The  wide  gap  which  the  Atlantic  Ocean  opens  in  the  zone  of  habitation  has 
the  effect  of  producing  "  fringe  "-lands.  Although  a  brisk  intercourse  from  north 
to  south,  together  with  thickly-peopled  regions  at  the  back,  and  more  favourable 
climates,  have  rendered  these  far  less  ethnographically  destitute  than  the  regions 
towards  the  poles,  we  still  find  that  in  Africa  the  highest  development  has  been 
reached  on  the  east  coast,  in  America  on  the  west,  that  is  on  the  inner  sides  or 
those  farthest  from  the  Atlantic.  The  population  of  Africa  has  undoubted  affini- 
ties with  that  of  Asia,  but  shows  no  trace  of  any  relations  with  America.  But 
this  connection  extends  farther,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  mainland  of  Asia  to  the 
great  Asiatic  islands  ;  it  forms  a  great  region  of  civilization  between  the  northern 
and  southern  borders,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  western  counterpart  of  that 
more  easterly  region  extending  across  the  Pacific  into  America.  The  great  mark 
of  distinction  between  the  two  portions  lies  in  the  use  or  non-use  of  iron.  In  the 
north,  indeed,  the  western  region  encroaches  upon  the  eastern  ;  but  the  contrast 
between  north  and  south,  ever-increasing,  remains  persistent  past  the  point  where  it 
crosses  the  boundary  between  East  and  West.  In  their  intersection  we  find  the  ex- 
pression of  a  great  difference  in  antiquity  between  the  former  classification  which  is 
mainly  anthropological,  and  the  latter  which  is  ethnographical.  In  the  later  develop- 
ment of  races  iron  has  unquestionably  played  an  important  part.  The  boundary 
between  countries  which  do  and  do  not  use  iron  corresponds  with  those  of  other 
important  regions  of  ethnographic  distribution.  Where  there  is  no  iron  cattle- 
breeding,  the  staple  of  which  is  oxen,  buffaloes,  sheep,  goats,  horses,  camels  and 
elephants,  is  also  unknown  ;  pigs  and  poultry  also  are  seldom  bred  in  lands 
without  iron.     The  distinction  in  political  and  social  relations  goes  far  deeper.      In 


SITUATION,  ASPECT,  AND  NUMBERS   OF   THE  HUMAN  RACE  7 

America,  Oceania,  and  Australia  we  have  a  much  older  stage  of  development : 
group -marriage,  exogamy,  mother- right,  and  clan -division  ;  in  Europe,  Africa, 
and  Asia,  the  patriarchal  system  of  the  family,  monogamy,  states  in  the  modern 
sense.  Thus  among  mankind  also  east  and  west  stand  over  against  each  other. 
America  is  the  extreme  east  of  the  human  race,  and  thus  we  may  expect  to  find 
there  older  stages  of  development  than  in  Africa  and  Europe,  the  extreme  west. 

The  distribution  of  races  affords  a  far  less  simple  picture.  The  Negroid  is 
indeed  essentially  a  southern  race.  Its  northern  limit  is  in  Africa  formed  by  the 
desert  ;  continued  in  Asia  by  lofty  mountains  ;  reaches  its  only  important  extension 
beyond  the  northern  tropic  in  the  angle  of  the  Indus,  and  retreats  in  Oceania  to 
the  south  side  of  the  equator.  Thus  we  have  a  southern  domain,  belonging 
essentially  to  the  geographical  eastern  hemisphere,  of  which  the  largest  territories 
lie  compact  and  altogether  between  the  tropics  and  in  the  south  temperate  zone. 
In  addition  to  their  southern  situation  they  are  affected  by  the  peculiar  features 
of  outline  and  surface  which  here  prevail.  The  geographical  opposition  between 
north  and  south  exists  of  course  all  the  earth  over  ;  but  as  a  factor  in  ethno- 
graphical or  anthropological  distinctions  it  concerns  only  the  so-called  Old  World 
and  the  parts  adjacent,  a  fact  which  has  a  large  share  in  producing  the  great 
variety  in  the  appearance  and  form  of  men  as  we  find  them  on  this  side, 
embracing  every  stage  of  development  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  In 
America,  on  the  contrary,  we  find  one  race  both  north  and  south,  and  no  ethno- 
graphic distinctions  of  the  magnitude  which  North  and  South  Africa,  North  and 
South  Asia,  or  Australia  have  to  show.  Anthropologically  throughout,  ethno- 
graphically  in  many  portions,  America  belongs  to  the  northern  regions. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  Africa  and  Asia  the  most  important  question  bears 
upon  the  relations  between  north  and  south.  A  sharp  distinction  is  here  made 
by  the  different  nature  of  the  boundaries  towards  the  north.  Between  the  negroes 
and  North  Africa  lies  the  desert,  a  large  and  substantial  barrier.  South  Asia 
consists  only  of  loosely  connected  parts,  not  sharply  marked  off  from  the  north 
and  middle  regions.  Above  all,  India  has  been  subject  to  influences  which 
distinguish  it  from  Africa  ;  but  both  in  customs  and  physical  characteristics  we 
find  in  Africa  earlier,  that  is  less  modified,  conditions  of  a  development  proceeding 
from  the  same  origin  as  in  India.  Lastly,  Malaysia  shares  with  Madagascar  and 
India  in  the  invasion  of  offsets  from  northern  races. 

Wherever  dark  and  light  races  have  been  in  contact,  from  the  north-west  point 
of  Africa  to  Fiji,  crossing  has  taken  place  between  them.  Such  half-bred  races, 
of  most  various  degrees  of  intermixture,  inhabit  the  Soudan,  the  Sahara,  Southern 
and  Central  East  Africa,  Southern  Arabia,  Madagascar,  southern  India  on  both 
sides  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  Australia.  In  southern  Europe  and  the  extreme 
of  Polynesia  we  find  isolated  traces  of  negroid  admixture.  Only  one  well-defined 
race,  thanks  to  its  secluded  position,  has  been  able  fully  to  develop  itself.  We 
refer  to  the  Australians,  who  with  their  dark  skins,  stiff  or  curly  hair,  and  long 
(dolichocephalic)  heads  appear  to  spring  from  a  cross  of  Papuan  with  Malayo- 
Polynesian  ancestors.  The  peculiarities  (of  which  we  do  not  know  the  origin) 
belonging  to  the  Papuan  type  are  also  noticeable  here  ;  and  we  have  besides 
the  tendency  to  degradation  in  the  traces  of  a  low  stage  of  culture  and  a  life  of 
poverty. 

The  water  surface  of  the  earth  extends  in  the  sea  alone  to  almost  three- 


THE   HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


quarters  of  the  whole,  so  that  all  the  land  is  an  island  in  a  sea  nearly  three  times 
its  size.  The  most  widely  separated  portion  of  mankind  must,  even  in  the  course  of 
their  movements  in  historical  times,  have  been  brought  to  the  sea  ;  and  before  the 
invention  of  seafaring  there  must  have  been  a  time  when  the  sea  confined  them^ 
to  those  regions  which  had  been  the  cradle  of  the  race.  That  invention,  the 
earliest  indications  of  which  have  long  disappeared — for  in  all  parts  of  the  earth  we 
find  high  development  of  the  art  side  by  side  with  ignorance  of  it — was  the  first 
thing  that  rendered  possible  the  spread  of  mankind  over  almost  all  the  habitable 


Fijian  double  canoe. 


portions  of  the  globe.  In  the  most  various  parts  of  the  earth  we  meet  with  the 
arts  of  shipbuilding  and  navigation  in  an  advanced  stage.  This  is  most  conspicuous 
in  the  Pacific,  least  so  in  the  Atlantic.  This  irregular  distribution  is  a  sign  of  the 
ease  with  which  the  art  is  forgotten  ;  so  that  we  must  not  from  its  absence  in 
places,  and  the  absence  even  of  any  memory  of  it,  infer  a  continued  or  complete 
non-activity  in  regard  to  the  sea.  Even  if  we  did  not  meet,  in  Hawaii  and  else- 
where, with  traditions  of  larger  and  better  vessels  in  former  times,  the  close 
connection  which  subsists  between  a  high  social  and  political  organisation  and 
proficiency  in  seafaring  would  presume  the  possibility  of  a  rapid  retrogression 
in  the  latter.  The  Northmen  sailed  to  Iceland,  Greenland,  America,  in  little  boat%: 
which,  perhaps,  were  not  so  good  as  those  used  by  the  Polynesians  ;  afterwards 
they  lost  sight  of  the  land  which  had  been  their  goal,  and  forgot  the  way  to  it. 
The  very  extent  of  the  inhabited  world  at  the  present  day,  embracing  as  it  does 


SITUATION,  ASPECT,  AND  NUMBERS   OF   THE  HUMAN  RACE  g 

all  habitable  lands  with  the  exception  of  a  few  remote  and  small  islands,  is  in 
itself  evidence  for  the  antiquity  of  man. 

The  broad  expanse  of  waters  opened  to  men  a  copious  source  of  food,  and  for 
that  reason  caused  the  maritime  regions  to  be  most  thickly  peopled  ;  it  also  facili- 
tated intercourse  between  distant  countries,  which  might  have  been  impossible 
across  lands  inhabited  by  hostile  races,  and  accordingly  the  higher  civilization 
spread  inland  from  the  coasts.  For  this  reason  it  has  always  exercised  the 
remarkable  influence  upon  men's  thoughts  which  we  see  in  the  part  played  by 
the  sea  or  lake-horizon  in  all  images  of  the  world  that  have  ever  been  conceived. 
Most  of  these  picture  the  earth  as  an  island  in  a  broad  sea,  and  the  future  world 
as  lying  far  off  in  the  sea.  Whether  this  be  a  land  with  a  stream  round  it  or  an 
island  in  the  evening  glow,  whether  it  be  in  a  lake  or  in  a  river,  or  copious 
springs  gush  from  it,  or  beardless  youths  constantly  hold  the  water  back  from 
it,  or  whether,  lastly,  it  is  only  that  the  way  to  it  lies  over  the  sea,  it  is  not 
waterless  land.  The  soul  has  to  take  its  way  across  water  ;  hence  the  frequent 
occurrence  of  boat-formed  coffins  or  even  grave-stones,  the  burial  in  boats,  or  the 
little  canoe  used  by  the'Dyaks  as  a  sepulchral  monument. 

Thus  wherever  the  earth  is  habitable  by  man,  we  find  peoples  who  are  members 
of  one  and  the  same  human  race.  The  unity  of  the  human  genus  is  as  it  were 
the  work  of  the  planet  Earth,  stamped  on  the  highest  step  of  creation  therein. 
There  is  only  one  species  of  man  ;  the  variations  are  numerous,  but  do  not  go 
deep.  Man  is  in  the  widest  sense  a  citizen  of  the  earth.  Even  to  parts  of  the 
earth  where  he  cannot  remain  he  makes  his  way.  He  knows  nearly  the  entire 
globe.  Of  all  the  beings  attached  to  the  ground  he  is  one  of  the  most  locomotive. 
Individual  movements  are  linked  together,  and  one  great  movement,  the  substratum 
of  which  is  all  humanity,  goes  forward  with  time.  As  the  linking  is  necessary 
and  continuous,  it  raises  individual  movement  to  a  position  of  higher  significance. 
The  ultimate  result  is  not  only  a  wider  distribution,  but  also  the  increasing 
permeation  of  the  portions  that  dwell  within  the  habitable  limits  until  a  general 
agreement  in  essentials  is  attained.  This  affects  the  whole  ;  peculiarities  adhere 
to  localities.  Thus  we  are  entitled,  in  a  scientific  sense,  to  speak  of  the  unity  of 
the  human  race,  if  by  unity  we  understand  not  uniformity  but  the  community, 
shown  by  testimonies  from  every  domain,  of  the  life  of  different  peoples,  in  a 
history  embracing  many  thousands  of  years,  as  presupposed  by  the  common  basis 
which  nature'  has  given.  If  there  has  been  in  the  later  historical  period  so  rapid 
an  acceleration  in  the  pace  at  which  culture  has  progressed,  that  certain  groups 
seem  to  have  advanced  far  beyond  the  remaining  mass,  there  yet  remains  much 
of  the  common  inheritance  to  be  found  among  the  highest  as  well  as  the  lowest 
strata.  And  if  it  be  inquired,  what  is  the  origin  of  this  common  inheritance,  we 
can  again  point  to  the  fact  that  restless  movement  is  the  stamp  of  mankind.  In 
comparison  with  its  strength  and  duration  the  earth  is  small  ;  a  thousand 
generations  of  our  ancestors,  from  the  moment  that  ships  were  invented  for  the 
crossing  of  rivers  and  seas,  were  enabled,  whether  voluntarily  or  not,  to  wander 
round  it.  But  that  moment  lies  far  behind  us.  Only  a  short-sighted  conceit  can 
regard  the  fact  that,  in  the  four  centuries  since  the  discovery  of  America,  Europeans 
have  spread  far  and  wide  over  that  continent  their  domestic  animals  and  plants, 
their  weapons  and  implements,  above  all  their  religion,  as  an  unapproached 
phenomenon  in  the  history  of  the  world.      Others  besides  Northmen  discovered 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


America  before  Columbus.  The  world  that  we  pretentiously  style  "  the  New 
must  have  been  discovered  from  the  westward  many  a  time  before  the  Pale  Faces 
came  from  the  east  as  the  latest  and  definitive  discoverers.  If  the  Malays  have 
spread  over  the  200°  of  longitude  that  separate  Madagascar  from  Easter  Island 
in  a  period  which,  as  language  and  else  shows,  has  not  been  going  on  for  many 
centuries  ;  if,  since  the  European  discovery  of  America,  individual  tribes  in  that 
continent  have  changed  their  locality  by  over  2000  miles  ;  if  over  half  Africa, 
within  a  belt  40°  of  latitude  in  width,  a  language  is  spoken  with  only  differences 
of  dialect  equivalent  to  that  between  high  and  low  German,  we  must  grant  that 
European  civilization  was  not  the  first  to  set  a  girdle  round  the  earth.  The  great 
and  only  distinction  is  that  to-day  that  takes  place  deliberately  which  in  former 
ages  was  the  result  of  a  dim  impulse,  such  as  in  historic  times  acted  on  Alexander 
and  Columbus,  in  prehistoric  times  on  thousands  of  their  predecessors, 
,  If  we  regard  mankind  as  a  body  ever  in  movement,  we  cannot,  as  once  was 

usual,  look  upon  it  as  a  union  of  species,  sub-species,  groups,  races,  tribes,  rigidly 
separate  from  each  other.  As  soon  as  ever  a  portion  of  mankind  had  learnt  to 
plough  the  dissociating  ocean,  the  mark' was  set  for  ever-progressing  fusion.  If 
we  assume,  with  the  majority  of  anthropologists  at  the  present  day,  a  single  origin 
for  man,  the  reunion,  into  one  real  whole,  of  the  parts  which  have  diverged  after 
the  fashion  of  "  sports,"  must  be  regarded  as  the  unconscious  ultimate  aim  of 
these  movements  of  mankind.  This,  in  the  limited  space  of  the  habitable  world, 
must  lead  to  permeation,  and,  as  a  consequence,  to  mingling,  crossing,  levelling. 
But  again,  as  a  similar  organisation  has  spread  among  men,  the  possibility  has 
increased  of  migration  to  places  the  most  remote  from  the  original  abode ;  and  in 
the  whole  world  there  is  hardly  a  frontier  left  which  has  not  been  crossed.  In 
applying  the  comprehensive  term  "  Wandering  of  the  Nations,"  people  are  apt  to 
overlook  the  individual,  whose  movements  we  must  expressly  declare  are  no  less 
important. 

The  numbers  of  mankind  are  closely  dependent  on  their  territory,  since  this 
exercises  a  great  influence  on  their  interior  development,  their  distribution,  their 
relations.  The  total  figure,  as  now  estimated,  of  1,500,000,000  must  be  regarded 
as  the  result  of  a  development  never  attained  before.  The  development  of 
modern  conditions  is  in  a  higher  measure  than  is  usually  believed  connected  with 
the  increased  replenishment  of  the  earth.  The  organisation  of  races  outside  of 
the  European  and  Asiatic  sphere  of  civilization  does  not  permit  any  density  of 
population  to  exist.  Small  communities  cultivating  their  narrow  patches  of 
ground  are  separated  from  each  other  by  wide  empty  spaces  which  either  serve 
for  hunring-grounds  or  lie  useless  and  vacant.  These  limit  the  possibilities  of 
intercourse,  and  render  large  permanent  assemblies  of  men  impossible.  Hunting 
races,  among  whom  agriculture  does  not  exist  or  tends  to  vanish,  often  dwell  so 
thinly  scattered  that  there  will  be  only  one  man,  frequently  less,  to  24  square  miles. 
Where  there  is  some  agriculture,  as  among  many  Indian  tribes,  among  Dyaks,  in 
Papua,  we  find  from  i  o  to  40  in  the  same  area  ;  as  it  develops  further,  in  Central 
Africa  for  instance,  or  the  Malay  Archipelago,  from  100  to  300.  In  the  north- 
west of  America  the  fishing-races  who  live  on  the  coast  run  to  100  in  20  square 
miles,  and  the  cattle-keeping  nomads  to  about  the  same.  Where  fishing  and 
agriculture  are  combined,  as  in  Oceania,  we  find  as  many  as  500.  The  same 
figure  is  reached  in   the  steppes   of  Western   Asia   by  the   partly  settled,  partly 


SITUATION,  ASPECT,  AND  NUMBERS   OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE  ii 

nomad  population.  Here  we  cross  the  threshold  of  another  form  of  civilization. 
Where  trade  and  industry  combine  to  operate  there  is  sustenance  for  io,000 
persons  (as  in  India  and  East  Asia),  or  15,000  (as  in  Europe)  to  24  square  m.iles. 

This  enumeration  shows  at  the  lowest  round  of  the  ladder  peoples  belonging 
to  the  most  different  zones  and  countries.  All  races  in  a  state  of  nature  live 
thinly  scattered ;  civilized  populations  are  marked  by  greater  density.  The 
former  are  more  dependent  on  the  soil  than  the  latter ;  in  districts  similarly 
endowed  their  distribution  is  as  a  rule  similarly  proportioned.  The  difference 
which  we  see  between  the  well-cultivated  but  thinly-peopled  corn-bearing  areas 
and  the  thickly-inhabited  districts  of  spade-cultivation  are  results  of  civilization.. 

In  density  of  population  lies  not  only  steadiness  of  and  security  for  vigorous 
growth,  but  also  the  immediate  means  of  promoting  civilization.  The  closer  men 
are  in  contact,  the  more  they  can  impart  to  each  other,  the  less  does  what  is 
acquired  by  civilization  go  to  waste,  the  higher  does  competition  raise  the  activity 
of  all  their  powers.  The  increase  and  maintenance  of  the  numbers  are  intimately 
connected  with  the  development  of  culture  ;  a  population  thinly  scattered  over  a 
large  district  means  low  civilization,  while  in  old  or  new  centres  of  civilization  we 
find  the  people  in  dense  masses.  China  and  India  reckon  their  inhabitants  at 
600,000,000,  but  an  equivalent  area  of  the  intervening  region  of  Central  Asiatic 
nomads,  Mongolia,  Tibet,  East  Turkestan,  cannot  show  a  sixtieth  of  the  number. 
Six-sevenths  of  the  earth's  inhabitants  belong  to  civilized  countries. 

While  the  history  of  the  European  nations  for  centuries  past  shows  the  same 
decided  tendency  to  increase  which  we  observe  even  in  ancient  times,  the  uncivilized 
races  offer  examples  of  shrinkage  and  retrogression  such  as  we  find  in  the  case  of  the 
others,  if  at  all,  only  lasting  over  a  short  period,  and  then  as  the  result  of  casualties 
such  as  war  and  pestilence.  The  very  thinness  of  the  population  is  a  cause  of 
their  decay ;  their  smaller  numbers  are  more  readily  brought  to  the  point  of 
dwindling  or  vanishing.  Rapid  using-up  of  the  vital  powers  is  a  characteristic  of 
all  the  races  in  the  lower  stages  of  civilization.  Their  economical  basis  is  narrow 
and  incomplete,  frugality  only  too  often  verges  on  poverty,  scarcity  is  a  frequent 
visitor,  and  all  those  measures  of  precaution  with  which  sanitary  science  surrounds 
our  life  are  lacking.  In  the  struggle  with  the  too  pov/erful  forces  of  nature,  as  in 
the  Arctic  regions  or  the  steppe-districts  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  on  the  confines 
of  the  inhabited  world,  they  often  succumb  till  they  are  completely  wiped  out,  and 
a  whole  race  perishes.  It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  refer,  as  is  often  done,  the  extinc- 
tion of  barbarous  races,  of  which  we  hear  so  much,  solely  to  contact  with  superior 
civilization.  But  closer  consideration  enables  us  to  recognise  self-destruction  as  a 
no  less  frequent  case.  The  two  work  as  a  rule  together  ;  neither  would  attain  its 
end  so  quickly  without  the  co-operation  of  the  other.  The  basis  of  a  healthy 
increase  in  population  is  an  approximate  balance  of  the  sexes ;  this  among 
uncivilized  people  is  generally  disturbed,  and  the  number  of  children  small.  War, 
murder,  and  kidnapping  all  contribute  to  reduce  the  population.  Human  life  is 
of  small  value,  as  human  sacrifices  and  cannibalism  sufficiently  indicate.  Lastly, 
man  in  a  state  of  nature  is  far  from  possessing  that  ideal  health  of  which  so  many 
have  fabled;  the  negroes  of  Africa  can  alone  be  described  as  a  robust  race. 
Australians,  Polynesians,  Americans,  on  the  other  hand,  are  far  more  subject  to 
diseases  than  civilized  men  are,  and  adapt  themselves  to  new  climates  with  difficulty. 
There  is  no  question  but  that  these  peoples  were  in  many  districts  slowly  dying 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


out  by  sickness  before  the  appearance  of  Europeans.  But  no  doubt  the  arrival  of 
civilization  disturbs  society  down  to  its  roots.  It  contracts  the  available  space,  thus 
altering  one  of  the  conditions  upon  which,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  the  peculiar 
social  and  political  arrangements  of  races  in  a  natural  state  were  framed.  It 
introduces  wants  and  enjoyments  which  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  mode  of 
living  usual  among  these  people,  or  their  capacity  for  labour.  It  brings  upon 
them  diseases  previously  unknown,  which  on  a  new  soil  commit  frightful  ravages; 
and  inevitable  quarrels  and  fighting  besides.  Over  the  larger  territories,  such  as 
North  America,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  progress  of  civilization  led  to  the 
crowding  of  the  aboriginal  races  into  the  least  favourable  districts,  and  therewith 
to  the  diminution  of  their  numbers.  In  the  smaller,  such  as  oceanic  islands  (but 
also  in  Cuba  and  Haiti),  they  have  nearly  died  out,  in  some  cases  been  absorbed 
by  the  stronger  race,  in  any  case  they  have  disappeared.  Where  the  greater 
toughness  of  the  inferior  race,  or  more  favourable  natural  conditions,  has  delayed 
the  process,  as  in  any  part  of  Africa,  in  North  America,  in  Mexico,  an  intermixture, 
which  will  ultimately  end  no  less  in  the  abolition  of  the  natives  as  an  individual 
and  independent  race,  is  in  progress.  Great  shiftings  have  already  taken  place, 
others  are  going  on,  and  over  wide  districts,  owing  to  these  passive  movements, 
it  is  impossible  to  think  of  the  people  as  in  a  state  of  stability.  As  far  as  95°  of 
west  longitude.  North  America  can  show  only  the  debris  of  Indian  tribes;^  in 
Victoria  and  New  South  Wales  there  are  hardly  a  thousand  aborigines  left ;  and 
it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  Northern  Asia,  North  America,  Australia,  and 
Oceania  will  be  Europeanised. 

A  thousand  examples  show  that  in  all  this  change  and  movement  the  races 
cannot  remain  unaltered,  and  that  even  the  most  numerous,  counting  their  hundreds 
of  millions,  cannot  keep  their  footing  in  the  tumult  that  surges  around  them, 
Inter-breeding  is  making  rapid  strides  in  all  parts  of  the  earth.  From  North  and 
East  Africa,  Arabs  and  peoples  of  the  Berber  stock  are  pressing  upon  the  Negroes, 
of  whom  the  most  remote  tribes  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the  continent  show 
in  their  Semitic  features  how  long  these  influences  have  been  at  work.  In  the 
place  of  the  Hottentots  we  find  the  Bastaards,  European  half-breeds.  In  Canada 
nearly  all  the  French  settlements  show  traces  of  Indian  blood  ;  in  Central  and 
South  America  the  Mestizos  and  Mulattos  are  already  stronger  than  the  full- 
blooded  Indians  ;  in  Oceania,  Malays  and  Polynesians  are  crossed  with  the  Negro 
of  the  Pacific  ;  throughout  Central  Asia  there  is  a  mixture  of  Mongol,  Chinese,  and 
European  blood,  reaching  far  in  the  direction  of  Europe  and  affecting  the  whole 
north  and  east  of  one  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  greater  bulk,  quicker  growth,  and 
superiority  in  all  conquering  arts,  which  mark  the  more  highly  civilized  races,  give 
them,  wherever  climate  is  not  unfavourable,  the  advantage  in  this  process,  and  we 
can  speak  of  an  absorption  of  the  lower  by  the  higher  even  where  the  latter  for 
the  present  are  not  in  the  majority.  If  there  is  any  consolation  in  the  universal 
disappearance  of  native  races,  it  is  the  knowledge  that  a  great  part  of  them  is 
being  slowly  raised  by  the  process  of  intermixture.  No  doubt  people  like  to 
repeat  a  statement,  professedly  based  on  old  experience,  that  in  half-breeds  the 
vices  of  both  parents  predominate,  but  a  glance  at  the  national  life  of  the  present 
day  is  enough   to   show  that  Mulattos,  Mestizos,   Negro  and   Arab   half-breeds 

'  [There  is  some  doubt  whether  the  actual  number  of  North  American  Indians  has  much   diminished. 
Rather  the  natural  multiplication  of  the  race  has  been  checked.] 


SITUATION,  ASPECT,  AND  NUMBERS   OF   THE  HUMAN  RACE 


13 


Sandili,  king  of  the  Gaikas  ;  showing  the  Semitic  type  of  the 
Kaffirs.      (From  a  photograph  by  G.  Fritsch. ) 


stand   in  America   and    in  Africa  at  the   head    of   Indians   and   Negroes.      The 
mixture   once   begun   continues   to    progress,   and   each   fresh    infusion   of   liigher 
blood  tends  to  reduce  the  interval  by  levelling  up.     We  need  only  consider  how 
nearly  the  Indians  of  Mexico  and 
Peru  have  risen  to  the  level  of  the 
people  of  European   descent,  from 
whom  they  seemed  at  the  time  of 
the  Conquest  to  be  separated  by  a 
bottomless  chasm. 

If  the  history  of  the  world 
shows  a  spread,  interrupted  indeed 
but  ever  progressing,  of  civilization 
throughout  the  earth,  the  natural 
numerical  preponderance  existing 
among  civilized  folk  is  an  im- 
portant factor  therein.  The  people 
who  increase  the  more  quickly  pour 
out  their  surplus  upon  the  others, 
and  thus  the  influence  of  the  higher 
culture,  which  itself  was  the  cause 
or  condition  of  the  more  rapid 
multiplication,  gets  spontaneously 
the  upper  hand.  Thus  the  spread 
of  civilization  appears  as  a  self- 
accelerating  outgrowth  over  the 
world  of  civilizing  races,  ever  striv- 
ing more  completely  to  effect  that 
unity  of  the  human  race  which 
forms  at  once  its  aim  and  task,  its 
desire  and  hope. 

In  conclusion,  if  we  seek  to 
trace  backward  the  road  which  the 
most  important  parts  of  mankind 
have  followed,  we  find  the  starting- 
point  to  be  the  neighbouring  exist- 
ence of  several  variations,  or,  as 
Blumenbach  prefers,  degenerated 
forms  of  the  one  human  species. 
These  were  at  first  confluent  at  a 
few  points  only ;  but,  as  intercourse 
increased,  came  more  and  more  into 
contact,  at  last  penetrating  and 
mingling  with  each  other  to  such 
a  degree  that  no  one  of  the  original 
varieties  now  exists  .  in  the  form 
once  peculiar  to  it.  What  remains,  however,  leads  us  back  to  two  great  contrasted 
divisions  which  survive  in  the  races  of  to-day,  the  Whites  and  Mongoloids  in  the 
northern  hemisphere,  the   Negroes  in  the  southern.     These  embrace  the  further 


A  Galla  monk  :  Hamitic  or  Semitic  blend.     (From  a  photo- 
graph in  the  collection  of  Pruner  Bey. ) 


i^  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


contrasts  of  continental  compactness  and  oceanic  disconnection  ;  of  the  world 
which  is  deeply  interlaced  with  the  north  polar  regions,  and  that  which  is  cut  off 
by  the  ocean  from  polar  influences.  The  Negro  races,  whether  in  Africa,  Asia, 
or  the  Pacific,  may  once  have  lived  further  north  than  they  do  now ;  but,  in  any 
case,  they  always  held  the  more  southerly  position  under  the  impulse  which  has 
assigned  to  them  this  present  place  of  abode. 


§  3.    THE  POSITION  OF  NATURAL  RACES  AMONG  MANKIND 

The  conception  of  a  natural  or  barbarous  race — Progress  and  retrogression — Bodily  differences — Civilized  races 
—The  brute  in  man— Wherein  does  the  possession  of  culture  consist  ? — Common  property  of  mankind 
in  reason,  language,  religion — In  the  remaining  elements  of  civilization  the  difference  is  only  one  of 
degree. 

First  a  word  as  to  the  name  of  "  natural "  races  which  we  shall  frequently 
have  to  use.  They  are  those  races  who  live  more  in  bondage  to,  or  in  dependence 
on,  nature  than  do  those  whom  we  call  "  cultured "  or  "  civilized."  What  the 
name  expresses  is  a  distinction  in  mode  of  life,  of  mental  talent,  of  historical 
position  ;  it  assumes  nothing  and  prejudices  nothing  in  those  directions,  and  is 
therefore  doubly  suitable  for  our  purpose.  For  we  shall  perhaps  have  to  make 
this  neutral  name  contain  what  is  in  many  respects  so  different  a  conception  as 
that  which  the  reader  has  b2en  wont  to  attach  to  the  term  "  savages."  We 
speak  of  natural  races,  not  because  they  stand  in  the  most  intimate  relations  with 
Nature,  but  because  they  are  in  bondage  to  Nature.  The  distinction  between 
natural  and  cultured  races  is  not  to  be  sought  in  the  degree,  but  in  the  kind  of 
their  association  with  Nature.  Culture  is  freedom  from  Nature,  not  in  the  sense  of 
entire  emancipation,  but  in  that  of  a  more  manifold  and  wider  connection.  The 
farmer  who  stores  his  corn  in  a  barn  is  ultimately  just  as  dependent  on  the  soil  of 
his  fields  as  the  Indian  who  reaps  in  the  swamps  the  rice  which  he  did  not  sow  ;  but 
the  former  feels  the  dependence  less,  since,  owing  to  the  provision  which  he  had 
the  wisdom  to  store  up,  the  chain  is  longer  and  its  pressure  accordingly  less  severe ; 
while  the  latter  is  touched  in  the  very  sinews  of  life  by  every  tempest  which  shakes 
the  ears  into  the  water.  We  do  not  become  any  the  freer  of  Nature  by  our  more 
thorough  utilisation  and  exploration  of  her ;  we  only  make  ourselves  less 
dependent  on  individual  accidents  of  her  being  or  of  her  course  by  multiplying  the 
points  of  contact.  It  is  just  by  reason  of  our  civilization  that  we  are  actually 
to-day  more  dependent  on  her  than  any  former  generation. 

We  must  not  content  ourselves  with  contrasting  natural  and  civilized  races, 
and  noticing  the  wide  gap  which  seems  to  yawn  between  them ;  our  business  is 
to  propound  the  question  :  What  is  the  position  which  the  natural  races  hold 
among  mankind  ?  For  centuries  this  question  has  been  treated  with  an  indolence 
which,  when  its  desire  for  facts,  narratives,  and  descriptions  was  once  appeased,  felt 
no  further  necessity  for  establishing  the  relation  of  "  savages  "  to  the  rest  of  the 
human  race.  These  black  and  brown  men  were  very  strange,  very  curious ;  it 
was  highly  interesting  to  read  of  them,  and  that  was  quite  enough.  We  have  no 
occasion  to  laugh  at  this  attitude  ;  our  own  delight  in  descriptions  of  travel  is 
much  of  the  same  sort.     The  more  uncivilized  the  country,  the  more  fascinating 


POSITION  OF  NATURAL  RACES  AMONG  MANKIND  15 

the  tale.  But  the  researches  of  Cook,  Forster,  Barrow,  Lichtenstein,  and  so  on, 
making,  as  even  they  did,  some  effort  after  a  deeper  insight  into  and  clearer  views 
of  natural  life,  possessed  for  their  contemporaries  chiefly  a  romantic  interest,  and 
gave  little  subject  of  consideration  to  the  philosophers.  The  only  deeper  emotion 
aroused  by  the  increasing  number,  excellence,  and  popularity  of  works  of  travel 
towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  consisted  in  the  shaking  of  beliefs  in  that 
blissful  state  of  nature  which  beautiful  spirits  after  Rousseau  venerated  as  the 
most  desirable  existence,  only  to  be  realised  in  the  solitude  of  primeval  forests,  or 
on  the  shores  of  fortunate  islands.  It  was  sought,  but  never  found.  What  a 
disillusion  for  hearts  of  sensibility  such  as  were  possessed  by  the  readers  of  The 
Indian  Wigwam,  or  George  Forster's  sketch  of  the  paradisal  Otaheitans. 

Slowly  did  the  consideration  of  savage  races  make  its  way  from  the  sphere  of 
the  emotions  to  that  of  the  intellect ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  estimate  formed 
of  these  races  sank  a  good  deal  lower,  proportionately  almost  to  the  greater  distance 
by  which  we  are  ahead  of  them  rather  in  intellect  than  in  those  amiable  dispositions 
and  expressions  which  had  hitherto  been  regarded  with  predilection.  Then  came 
into  the  world  the  idea  of  evolution,  dividing  races  into  strata  ;  whereby,  as  must  be 
clearly  pointed  out,  uncivilized  races  were,  on  the  basis  less  of  considered  facts 
than  of  general  sentiment,  lumped  together  as  a  kind  of  heterogeneous  foundation. 
One  can  understand  the  almost  passionate  need  which  was  felt  of  providing 
supports  in  the  world  of  actual  fact  for  the  bold  edifice  of  the  theory  of  evolution, 
and  if  we  cannot  ally  ourselves  at  all  points  with  this  feeling,  it  would  be  unjust 
not  to  recognise  that  it  has  called  forth,  no  less  in  the  study  of  the  life  of  races 
than  in  that  of  all  life,  a  movement  which  is  bringing  fruitful  truths  to  light.  In 
every  field  the  most  difficult  research  is  that  into  origins  ;  but  it  is  just  this  once- 
neglected  but  most  profound  problem  which  the  evolutionists  have  handled  in 
ethnology  as  well  as  elsewhere  with  an  admirable  unity  of  purpose.  Whether 
negative  or  positive,  their  results  deserve  our  gratitude.  To  them  is  due  the  merit 
of  having  placed  a  rich  array  of  facts  at  the  disposal  of  science  ;  from  the  day 
when  they  took  it  in  hand  must  we  date  the  thorough  research  into  what  has  been 
somewhat  too  hastily  called  the  original  conditions  of  the  human  race. 

While  we  are  duly  thankful  for  these  pioneering  achievements,  we  cannot 
reconcile  ourselves  to  their  conclusions.  They  look  for  origin  and  "  development " 
everywhere.  Are  we  not  entitled,  on  scientific  territory,  to  meet  with  a  certain 
mistrust  such  a  search,  which  knows  so  well  beforehand  what  it  i^  going  to  find  ? 
Experience  teaches  us  how  near  to  this  lies  the  danger  of  premature  assumption. 
A  man  whose  head  is  full  of  one  possibility  holds  others  very  cheap.  If  the 
inquirer,  steeped  in  the  idea  of  evolution,  finds  a  race  which  in  several  or  even 
many  respects  is  behind  its  neighbours,  the  "  behind "  is  involuntarily  converted 
into  "  below  "  ;  it  is  regarded  as  on  a  lower  round  of  the  ladder  by  which  mankind 
have  ascended  from  their  original  state  to  the  heights  of  civilization.  That  is  the 
counterpart  of  the  one-sided,  nay,  extravagant  notion  that  man  came  into  the 
world  a  civilized  being,  but  that  a  retrogressive  degeneration  has  made  him  what 
we  find  to-day  among  "  natural "  races.  Just  as  the  idea  of  evolution  found  its 
chief  adherents  among  physical  students,  so,  for  reasons  which  we  can  easily  divine, 
did  this  notion  of  retrogression  appeal  to  students  of  religion  and  language. 
Meanwhile  it  has  at  the  present  day  been  pushed  far,  in  our  view  too  far,  into  the 
background.      Inquiry  has  far  less  to  dread  from  it  than  from  the  opinion   most 


i6 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


decidedly  opposed   to   it,  of  which   the   fundamental  conception   expressed   in   its 
basest  and  most  abstract  form  would  be  somewhat  as  follows  :   "  In  mankind  there 

exists  only  upward  effort, 
progress,    development ; 
no  retreat,  no  decay,  no 
dying  out."      Put  in  this 
way,  do  we  not  at  once 
see    how    one-sided    is 
such  a  way  of  looking 
at   things  ?      It   is   true 
that  only  extremists  go 
so  far  in  this  direction, 
and  Darwin,  who,  as  a 
great    creator   of    ideas, 
held  his  views  with  the 
fullest  sense  of  propor- 
tion, admits   that   many 
nations    may    undoubt- 
edly have  gone  back  in 
their    civilization,    some 
even    fallen    into    utter 
barbarism  ;  although,  he 
cautiously  adds,  he  has 
found    no    evidence  for 
the    latter    case.       But 
even  he,  in   his  Descent 
of  Man,  has  not  always. 
been  able  to  escape  the 
temptation    to    imagine 
mankind    more    various 
in    itself    and    reaching' 
in    its   supposed   lowest 
members     more     nearly 
down  to  the  brute  world 
than  on  cooler  reflection 
appears  possible.  I 

Here  we  see  the  two 
extreme  conceptions  of 
natural  races.  We  can 
understand  how  funda- 
mentally different  must 
be  the  resulting  modesi 
of  considering  every  side 
of  their  existence,  or 
fiitiTrP      T?^,-  ,„t,o^  A-cc  ,  estimating  their  past  and 

IssSns  ther^  thif  1      T  K  ,""   ^"  ^''^'^'  *^^"   ^^^^^^  ^  conception  which 

ofthe  lonTand  diffi'lt        JT  "'  "'"'  ^"  *'^  ^^P^'^^^^^^  ^^-^  have  matured 
on  the  long  and  difficult  road  between  their  position  and  ours  are  as  yet  unde- ' 


Young  girl  of  the  Mountain  Damara  tribe.     (From  a  photograph 
belonging  to  the  Barmen  Mission,  j        '^         ^    ^^ 


POSITION  OF  NATURAL  RACES  AMONG  MANKIND  17 

veloped,  and  one  which  regards  them  as  it  were  on  the  same  line  with  us,  at  an 
equal  or  similar  stage  of  evolution,  but  robbed  by  ill-luck  of  a  large  part  of  their 
share  of  culture,  and  thus  impoverished,  miserable,  and  in  arrear  ?  May  we  be 
permitted  to  examine  the  facts  at  first  hand,  and  to  approach  a  little  nearer  to 
the  mean  where  the  truth  lies  than  it  has  been  granted  these  hypotheses  to  do. 

The  question  which  first  occurs  is  that  of  innate  physical  distinctions,  since 
these  must  enable  us  to  form  the  most  trustworthy  conclusions  as  to  the  nature 
and  magnitude  of  the  general  difference  to  be  observed  among  mankind.  But  that 
is  a  matter  of  anatomy  and  physiology,  and  as  such  concerns  the  anthropologist 
rather  than  us.  For  separate  facts  and  all  wider  excursions  in  the  field  our 
readers  must  be  referred  to  books  on  the  subject.  From  our  ethnographical 
point  of  view,  from  which  the  great  distinctions  in  human  civilization,  with  their 
important  results,  are  most  clearly  to  be  recognised,  the  first  thing  we  wish  is  that 
the  notion  of  culture -races,  in  respect  of  mankind,  might  be  somewhat  more 
thoroughly  tested  than  has  yet  been  done.  It  would,  we  may  safely  predict,  be 
found  first  of  all  that  qualities  appear  in  the  bodily  frame  of  civilizgd  races  due 
to  the  fact  of  their  civilization,  just  as  on  the  other  hand  the  bodies  of  natural  1 
races  have  certain  features  clearly  indicating  the  operation  of  a  mode  of  life 
marked  by  the  lack  of  all  that  we  are  used  to  call  culture.  Gustav  Fritsch,  an 
anatomist  who  has  studied  the  natural  races  in  their  natural  state,  asserts  that 
the  shapely  development  of  the  human  body  is  only  possible  under  the  influence 
of  civilization  ;  and  readers  of  his  descriptions  of  Hottentots,  Bushmen,  and  even 
Kaffirs,  will  feel  convinced  that  well-developed  bodies,  such  as  a  sculptor  would 
call  beautiful,  are  rarer  among  them  than  among  us,  the  "  played-out "  children  of 
civilization.  He  states  plainly  in  one  place  that  the  healthy,  normally-developed 
German,  both  as  to  proportions  and  as  to  strength  and  completeness  of  form, 
surpasses  in  fact  the  average  Bantu  man.^  The  Bantus,  we  may  add,  are,  in  the 
Kaffir  branch  of  which  he  is  here  speaking,  one  of  the  toughest  and  most  powerful 
races  of  Africa.  In  recent  times  we  have  often  heard  similar  judgments  ;  and 
the  saying  of  an  American  ethnographer,  that  the  Indians  are  the  best  model  of 
the  Apollo  Belvedere,  cannot  pass  even  as  a  flower  of  speech.  Deeper  investiga- 
tions have  shown  differences  in  the  skeleton  referable  in  the  one  case  to  the 
influences  of  civilized,  in  the  other  to  those  of  uncivilized,  life.  Virchow  has 
plainly  noted  Lapps  and  Bushmen  as  "  pathological "  races,  that  is,  impoverished 
and  degraded  by  hunger  and  want.  But  the  most  important  experiment  for 
settling  the  value  of  racial  distinctions — one  for  which  the  resources  of  science 
are  too  small,  and  only  the  history  of  the  world  suffices — is  now  for  the  first  time 
in  progress.  The  introduction  of  the  so-called  lower  races  into  the  circle  of  the 
higher  civilization,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  barriers  which  once  were  raised  high 
against  such  introduction,  is  not  only  a  brilliant  feat  of  humanity,  but  at  the  same 
time  an  event  of  the  deepest  scientific  interest.  For  the  first  time  m.illions  of 
what  was  considered  the  lowest  race — the  blacks — have  had  all  the  advantages, 
all  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  highest  civilization  thrown  open  to  them  ;  nothing 
prevents  them  from  employing  all  the  means  of  self-formation  which — and  herein 
lies  the  anthropological  interest  of  the  process — will  necessarily  be  transformation. 

'  [One  would  be  curious  to  see  the  result  of  a  fight  between  equal  forces  of  normally-developed  Germans 
and  average  Zulus  or  Matabeles,  firearms  being  barred.  The  question  of  relative  beauty  is  one  which  each 
race  will  answer  differently.] 

C 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


If  we  could  say  to-day  with  approximate  certainty,  what  will  become  in  the 
course  of  generations  of  the  12,000,000  of  negrd  slaves  who  have  within  the 
last  thirty  years  been  freed  in  America,  and  who  will,  in  the  enjoyment  of  freedom 
and  the  most  modern  acquisitions  of  culture,  have  multiplied  to  100,000,000, 
we  could  with  certainty  answer  the  question  as  to  the  effect  of  culture  upon  race- 
distinctions.     But  as  it  is,  we  must  be  content  with  hints  and  conjectures. 

It  may  be  safely  asserted  that  the  study  of  comparative  ethnology  in  recent 
years  has  tended  to  diminish  the  weight  of  the  traditionally-accepted  views  of 

anthropologists  as  to  racial  distinctions,  and  that  in  any 
case  they  afford  no  support  to  the  view  which  sees  in 
the  so-called  lower  races  of  mankind  a  transition-stage 
from  beast  to  man.  The  general  similarity  of  man  to 
the  brutes  in  bodily  structure  cannot  indeed  be  con- 
tested ;  what  we  demur  to  is  the  assumption  that 
individual  portions  of  mankind  are  so  much  more  like 
the  beasts  than  others.  In  our  study  of  people  of 
whatever  race  we  come  upon  traits  that  may  be  called 
bestial ;  but  this  is  only  what  was  to  be  expected.  Since 
man  has  retained  in  his  bodily  structure  so  close  a 
resemblance  to  the  apes  that  even  the  most  recent 
classifiers  have  attached  importance  to  this  only,  and 
might,  without  fear  of  blame  for  illogicality,  recur  to  the 
old  Linnaean  grouping  of  the  genus  homo  with  the  Apes 
in  an  order  of  Primates,  a  reduction  of  the  spiritual 
element  in  human  nature  is  quite  enough  to  allow  the 
bestial  part  of  the  material  foundation  to  emerge  in  a 
pretty  glaring  form.  We  all,  alas  !  are  familiar  with 
the  idea  that  a  beast  lies  hidden  in  every  man,  and 
"  brutality,"  "  brutalisation,"  and  other  only  too  familiar 
terms,  prove  how  frequently  our  fancy  is  called  upon  for 
corresponding  images.  When  a  starving  family  of  Australian  aborigines  retrieves 
from  the  vulture  a  piece  of  carrion,  which  by  all  natural  rights  has  long  been  his 
property,  and  flings  itself  like  a  pack  of  greedy,  jackals  on  its  prey,  gorging  until 
repletion  compels  slumber,  this  testifies  to  a  brutality  in  their  mode  of  life  which 
suppresses  all  movements  of  the  soul.  Nor  are  we  surprised  when  African 
travellers  can  compare  a  startled  swarm  of  Bushmen,  who  see  an  enemy  in  every 
stranger,  black  or  white,  with  nothing  else  than  a  troop  of  chimp,anzees  or  orangs 
in  flight.  We  must  not,  however,  let  all  our  blows  fall  on  these  poor  "natural" 
races  who  have  on  the  whole  no  greater  naturally-implanted  tendency  towards  the 
bestial  than  we  ourselves.  There  exist  Europeans  who  are  morally  degraded 
below  the  level  of  the  Australians.  This  sad  faculty  of  being  or  becoming  like 
the  brutes  is  unhappily  present  in  all  men,  in  some  a  little  more,  in  others  a  little 
less.  Whether  it  manifests  itself  with  more  or  less  frequency  and  plainness 
depends  merely  upon  the  degree  of  acquired  capacity  for  dissimulation,  which 
often  corresponds  to  that  of  civilization.  But  it  is  civilization  alone  which  can 
draw  any  boundary  between  us  and  the  "  natural "  races.  We  may  declare  in  the 
most  decided  manner  that  the  conception  of  "natural"  races  involves  nothing 
anthropological  or  physiological,  but  is  purely  one  of  ethnography  and  civiliza- 


Steel  Axe  of  European  make  with 
old  bone  handle,  from  New 
Zealand.     (Christy  Collection.) 


POSITION  OF  NATURAL  RACES  AMONG  MANKIND 


19 


tion.  Natural  races  are  nations  poor  in  culture.  There  may  be  peoples  belonging 
to  every  race,  endowed  by  nature  in  every  degree,  who  either  have  not  yet  pro- 
gressed to  civilization,  or  have  retrograded  in  respect  of  it.  The  old  Germans  and 
Gauls  appeared  no  less  uncivilized  beside  Roman  civilization  than  do  Kaffirs  or 
Polynesians  beside  ours  ;  and  many  a  people  which  to-day  is  reckoned  as  a  portion 
of  civilized  Russia  was  at  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great  still  in  a  state  of  nature. 


Ainu  beside  one  of  their  store-huts.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Freiherr  von  Siebold,  Vienna. ) 


The  gap  which  differences  of  civilization  create  between  two  groups  of  human 
beings  is  in  truth  quite  independent,  whether  in  its  depth  or  in  its  breadth,  of  the 
differences  in  their  mental  endowments.  We  need  only  observe  what  a  mass  of 
accidents  has  operated  in  all  that  determines  the  height  of  the  stage  of  civilization 
reached  by  a  people,  or  in  the  total  sum  of  their  civilization,  to  guard  ourselves 
with  the  utmost  care  from  drawing  hasty  conclusions  as  to  their  equipment  either 
in  body,  intellect,  or  soul.  Highly-gifted  races  can  be  poorly  equipped  with  all  that 
makes  for  civilization,  and  so  may  produce  the  impression  of  holding  a  low  position 


20  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


in 


among  mankind.  Chinese  and  Mongols  belong  to  the  same  stock  ;  but  what  a 
difference  in  their  civilization.  This  is  even  more  apparent  if,  instead  of  the 
Mongols,  we  take  any  of  the  barbarian  tribes  which,  in  the  frontier  provinces  of 
China  stand  out  like  islands  from  a  sea  of  more  highly-civilized  people,  who  lap  them 
round'  and  will  soon  overwhelm  them.  Or  again,  the  latest  researches  make  it 
probable  that  many  of  the  Ainu,  the  aborigines  of  the  northern  island  of  Japan,  stand 
nearer  to  the  Caucasian  than  to  the  Mongolian  stock.  Yet  they  are  a  "  natural " 
race  even  in  the  eyes  of  Mongolic  Japanese.  Race  as  such  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  'possession  of  civilization.  It  would  be  silly  to  deny  that  in  our  own  times 
the  highest  civilization  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Caucasian,  or  white,  races ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  an  equally  important  fact  that  for  thousands  of  years 
in  all  civilizing  movements  there  has  been  a  dominant  tendency  to  raise  all  races 
to  the  level  of  their  burdens  and  duties,  and  therewith  to  make  real  earnest  of  the 
great  conception  of  humanity — a  conception  which  has  been  proclaimed  as  a 
specially  distinguishing  attribute  of  the  modern  world,  but  of  which  many  still  do 
not  believe  in  the  realisation.  But  let  us  only  look  outside  the  border  of  the  brief 
and  narrow  course  of  events  which  we  arrogantly  call  the  history  of  the  world,  and 
we  shall  have  to  recognise  that  members  of  every  race  have  borne  their  part  i" 
the  history  which  lies  beyond,  the  history  of  primeval  and  pre-historic  times. 


§  4.  NATURE,  RISE,  AND    SPREAD    OF   CIVILIZATION 

Natural  and  civilized  races — Language  and  religion  universal  possessions — Races  with  and  without  history- 
Reasons  why  many  races  are  in  a  backward  state — The  development  of  civilization  is  a  matter  of  hoarding 
— So-called  semi-civilization — Material  and  spiritual  elements  in  hoarded  civilization — The  material  basis 
and  the  spiritual  nucleus — Natural  conditions  required  for  development — The  part  of  agriculture  and  pasture 
in  the  development  of  civilized  politics — Zones  of  civilization — Loss  of  civilization. 

What  is  then  the  essential  distinction  which  separates  natural  and  civilized  races  ? 
Upon  this  question  the  evolutionist  faces  us  with  alacrity,  and  declares  that  it  was 
done  with  long  ago  ;  for  who  can  doubt  that  the  natural  or  savage  races  are  the 
oldest  strata  of  mankind  now  existing?  They  are  survivors  from  the  uncultured 
ages  out  of  which  other  portions  of  mankind,  who  have  in  the  struggle  for  existence 
forced  their  way  to  higher  endowments  and  have  acquired  a  richer  possession  of 
culture,  have  long  ago  emerged.  This  assumption  we  meet  with  the  question : 
Wherein  then  does  this  possession  of  culture  consist?  Is  not  reason,  the  basis, 
nay,  the  source  of  it  all,  the  common  property  of  the  human  race  ?  To  language 
and  religion,  as  in  some  measure  the  noblest  forms  of  expression,  we  must  give 
the  precedence  over  all  others,  and  connect  them  closely  with  reason.  In  the  fine 
expression  of  Hamann  :  "  Without  speech  we  could  have  had  no  reason,  without 
reason  no  religion,  and  without  these  three  essential  components  of  our  nature 
neither  intelligence  nor  the  bond  of  society."  It  is  certain  that  language  has 
exercised  an  influence  reaching  beyond  our  sight  upon  the  education  of  the  human 
spirit.  As  Herder  says  :  "  We  must  regard  the  organ  of  speech  as  the  rudder  of 
our  reason,  and  see  in  talk  the  heavenly  spark  which  gradually  kindled  into  flame 
our  senses  and  thoughts."  No  less  certainly  does  the  religion  of  the  less  civilized 
races  contain  in  itself  all  the  germs  which  are  hereafter  to  form  the  noble  flowery 


NATURE,  RISE,  AND  SPREAD   OF  CIVILIZATION 


forest  of  the  spiritual  life  among  civilized  races.  It  is  at  once  art  and  science, 
theology  and  philosophy,  so  that  that  civilized  life  which  strives  from  however 
great  a  distance  to  reach  the  ideal  contains  nothing  which  is  not  embraced  by  it. 
Of  the  priests  of  these  races  the  saying  holds  good  in  the  truest  sense  that  they 
are  the  guardians  of  the  divine  mysteries.  But  the  subsequent  dissemination  of 
these  mysteries  among  the  people,  the  popularising  of  them  in  the  largest  sense,  is 
the  clearest  and  deepest-reaching  indication  of  progress  in  culture.  Now  while  no 
man  doubts  of  the  general  possession  of  reason  by  his  fellow-men  of  every  race  and 
degree,  while  the  equally  general 
existence  of  language  is  a  fact, 
and  it  is  not,  as  was  formerly 
believed,  the  case  that  the  more 
simply  constructed  languages 
belong  to  the  lower  races,  the 
richest  to  those  who  stand  high- 
est ;  the  existence  of  religion 
among  savage  races  has  been 
frequently  doubted.  It  will  be 
one  of  our  tasks  in  the  following 
pages  to  prove  the  unfounded- 
ness  of  this  assumption  in  the 
light  of  many  facts.  For  the 
present  we ,  will  venture  to  as- 
sume the  universality  of  at  least 
some  degree  of  religion. 

In  matters  connected  with 
political  and  economical  insti- 
tutions we  notice  among  the 
natural  races  very  great  differ- 
ences in  the  sum  of  their 
civilization.  Accordingly  we 
have  to  look  among  them  not 
only  for  the  beginnings  of 
civilization,  but  for  a  very  great 
part  of  its  evolution,  and  it  is 

■equally  certain  that  these  differences  are  to  be  referred  less  to  variations  in  endow- 
ment than  to  great  differences  in  the  conditions  of  their  development.  Exchange 
has  also  played  its  part,  and  unprejudiced  observers  have  often  been  more  struck 
in  the  presence  of  facts  by  agreement  than  by  difference.  "  It  is  astonishing," 
exclaims  Chapman,  when  considering  the  customs  of  the  Damaras,  "what  a 
similarity  there  is  in  the  manners  and  practices  of  the  human  family  throughout 
the  world.  Even  here,  the  two  different  classes  of  Damaras  practise  rites  in 
•common  with  the  New  Zealanders,  such  as  that  of  chipping  out  the  front  teeth 
and  cutting  off  the  little  finger."  It  is  less  astonishing  if,  as  the  same  traveller 
remarks,  their  agreement  with  the  Bechuanas  goes  even  further.  Now  since  the 
essence  of  civilization  lies  first  in  the  amassing  of  experiences,  then  in  the  fixity 
with  which  these  are  retained,  and  lastly  in  the  capacity  to  carry  them  further  or 
to  increase  them,  our  first  question  must  be,  how  is  it  possible  to  realise  the  first 


Ambuella  Drum.     (After  Serpa 
Pinto.) 


Igorrote  Drum  from  Luzon. 
(From  the  collection  of 
Dr.  Hans  Meyer. ) 


22  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

fundamental  condition  of  civilization,  namely,  the  amassing  a  stock  of  culture  in 
the  form  of  handiness,  knowledge,  power,  capital  ?  It  has  long  been  agreed  that 
the  first  step  thereto  is  the  transition  from  complete  dependence  upon  what 
Nature  freely  offers  to  a  conscious  exploitation,  through  man's  own  labour, 
especially  in  agriculture  or  cattle-breeding,  of  such  of  her  fruits  as  are  most 
important  to  him.  This  transition  opens  at  one  stroke  all  the  most  remote  pos- 
sibilities of  Nature,  but  we  must  always  remember,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  is  still 
a  long  way  from  the  first  step  to  the  height  which  has  now  been  attained. 

The  intellect  of  man  and  also  the  intellect  of  whole  races  shows  a  wide  dis- 
crepancy in  regard  to  differences  of  endowment  as  well  as  in  regard  to  the  different 
effects  which  external  circumstances  produce  upon  it.     Especially  are  there  varia- 
tions in  the  degree  of  inward  coherence  and  therewith  of  the  fixity  or  duration  of 
the  stock  of  intellect.       The  want  of  coherence,  the  breaking-up  of  this  stock, 
characterises  the  lower  stages  of  civilization  no  less  than  its  coherence,  its  inalien- 
ability, and  its  power  of  growth  do  the  higher.     We  find  in  low  stages  a  poverty 
of  tradition  which  allows  these  races   neither  to  maintain  a  consciousness  of  their 
earlier  fortunes  for  any  appreciable  period  nor  to  fortify  and  increase  their  stock  > 
of  intelligence  either   through  the   acquisitions  of  individual  prominent  minds  or 
through  the  adoption  and  fostering  of  any  stimulus.      Here,  if  we  are  not  entirely 
mistaken,  is  the    basis    of   the    deepest-seated   differences    between    races.      The 
opposition  of   historic   and   non-historic   races   seems  to   border  closely  upon  it. 
But  are  historical  facts  therefore  lost  to  history  when  their  memory  has  not  been 
preserved    in    writing  ?      The    essence    of    history    consists    in    the  very  fact    of 
happening,  not  in  the  recollecting  and  recording  what  has  happened.      We  shoqld 
prefer  to  carry  this  distinction  back  to  the  opposition  between  national  life  in  its 
atoms  and    national    life  organised,  since  the    deepest    distinction  seems    to   be 
indicated  by  internal  coherence  which  occurs  in  the  domain  of  historical  fact,  and 
therefore  mainly  in  the  domain  of  intellect.     The  intellectual  history  of  mankind 
no  less  than  the  social   and  political    is  in  the  first    place  a    progression    fi-omf 
individual  to  united  action.     And  in  truth  it  is  in  the  first  place  external  nature^ 
upon  which   the   intellect  of  man  educates  itself,  seeing  that  he  strives  to  put 
himself  towards  it  in  an  attitude  of  recognition,  the  ultimate  aim  of  which  is  the 
construction  within   himself  of  an   orderly  representation  of  Nature,  that  is  the*' 
creation  of  art,  poetry,  and  science. 

Showing  as  they  do  every  possible  variety  of  racial  affinity,  the  "  natural  'f ' 
races  cannot  be  said  to  form  a  definite  group  in  the  anatomical  or  anthropological 
sense.  Since  in  the  matter  of  language  and  religion  they  share  in  the  highest 
good  that  culture  can  offer,  we  must  not  assign  them  a  place  at  the  root  of  the 
human  family-tree,  nor  regard  their  condition  as  that  of  a  primitive  race,  or  of 
childhood.  There  is  a  distinction  between  the  quickly  ripening  immaturity  of  the 
child  and  the  limited  maturity  of  the  adult  who  has  come  to  a  stop  in  many 
respects.  What  we  mean  by  "  natural "  races  is  something  much  more  like  the 
latter  than  the  former.  We  call  them  races  deficient  in  civilization,  because 
internal  and  external  conditions  have  hindered  them  from  attaining  to  such 
permanent  developments  in  the  domain  of  culture  as  form  the  mark  of  the  true 
civilized  races  and  the  guarantees  of  progress.  Yet  we  should  not  venture  to 
call  any  of  them  cultureless,  so  long  as  none  of  them  is  devoid  of  the  primitive 
means  by  which  the  ascent  to  higher  stages  can  be  made — language,  religion,  fire 


NATURE,  RISE,  AND   SPREAD   OF  CIVILIZATION 


23 


weapons  implements  ;  while  the  very  possession  of  these  means,  and  many  others 
such  as  domestic  animals  and  cultivated  plants,  testifies  to  varied  and  numerous 
deahngs  with  those  races  which  are  completely  civilized. 


Queensland  Abongines 


(From  a  photograph. ) 


The  reasons  why  they  do  not  make  use  of  these  gifts  are  of  many  kinds 
Lower  intellectual  endowment  is  often  placed  in  the  first  rank.  That  is  a 
convenient,  but  not  quite  fair  explanation.  Among  the  savage  races  of  to-day 
we  find  great  diiiferences  in  endowments.      We  need  not  dispute  that  in  the  course 


24  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


of  development  races  of  even  slightly  higher  endowments  have  got  possession  of 
more  and  more  means  of  culture.iand  gained  steadiness  and  security  for  their 
progress,  while  the  less-endowed  remained  behind.  But  external  conditions,  in 
respect  to  their  furthering  or  hindering  effects,  can  be  more  clearly  recognised  and 
estimated  ;  and  it  is  juster  and  more  logical  to  name  them  first.  We  can  conceive 
why  the  habitations  of  the  savage  races  are  principally  to  be  found  on  the  extreme 
borders  of  the  inhabited  world,  in  the  cold  and  hot  regions,  in  remote  islands,  in 
secluded  mountains,  in  deserts.  We  understand  their  backward  condition  in  parts 
of  the  earth  which  offer  so  few  facilities  for  agriculture  and  cattle-breeding  as 
Australia,  the  Arctic  regions,  or  the  extreme  north  and  south  of  America.  In  the 
insecurity  of  incompletely  developed  resources,  we  can  see  the  chain  which  hangs 
heavily  on  their  feet,  and  confines  their  movements  within  a  narrow  space.  As  a 
consequence,  their  numbers  are  small,  and  from  this  again  results  the  small  total 
amount  of  intellectual  and  physical  accomplishment,  the  rarity  of  eminent  men. 
the  absence  of  the  salutary  pressure  exercised  by  surrounding  masses  on  the 
activity  and  forethought  of  the  individual,  which  operates  in  the  division  of 
society  into  classes,  and  the  promotion  of  a  wholesome  division  of  labour.  A 
partial  consequence  of  this  insecurity  of  resources  is  the  instability  of  natural 
races.  A  nomadic  strain  runs  through  them  all,  rendering  easier  to  them  the  utter 
incompleteness  of  their  unstable  political  and  economical  institutions,  even  when 
an  indolent  agriculture  seems  to  tie  them  to  the  soil.  Thus  it  often  comes  about 
that  in  spite  of  abundantly-provided  and  well-tended  means  of  culture,  their  life  is 
desultory,  wasteful  of  power,  unfruitful.  This  life  has  no  inward  consistency,  no 
secure  growth  ;  it  is  not  the  life  in  which  the  germs  of  civilization  first  grew  up  to 
the  grandeur  in  which  we  frequently  find  them  at  the  beginnings  of  what  we  call 
history.  It  is  full  rather  of  fallings-away  from  civilization,  and  dim  memories 
from  civilized  spheres  which  in  many  cases  must  have  existed  long  before  the 
commencement  of  history  as  we  have  it.  If,  in  conclusion,  we  are  to  indicate 
concisely  how  we  conceive  the  position  of  these  races  as,  compared  with  those  to 
which  we  belong,  we  should  say,  from  the  point  of  view  of  civilization  these  races 
form  a  stratum  below  us,  while  in  natural  parts  and  dispositions  they  stand  in 
some  respects,  so  far  as  can  be  seen,  on  a  level  with  us,  in  others  not  much  lower. 
But  this  idea  of  a  stratum  must  not  be  understood  in  the  sense  of  forming  the 
next  lower  stage  of  development  through  which  we  ourselves  had  to  pass,  but  as 
combined  and  built  up  of  elements  which  have  remained  persistent,  mingled  with 
others  which  have  been  pushed  aside  or  dropped  into  the  rear.  There  is  thus  a 
strong  nucleus  of  positive  attributes  in  the  "  natural "  races  ;  and  therein  lies  the 
value  and  advantage  of  studying  them.  The  negative  conception  which  sees  only 
what  they  lack  in  comparison  with  us  is  a  short-sighted  under-estimate. 

By  the  word  "  civilization  "  or  "  culture ''  we  denote  usually  the  sum  of  all  the 
acquirements  at  a  given  time  of  the  human  intelligence.  When  we  speak  of 
stages,  of  higher  and  lower,  of  semi-civilization,  of  civilized  and  "  natural  "  races,  we 
apply  to  the  various  civilizations  of  the  earth  a  standard  which  we  take  from  the 
degree  that  we  have  ourselves  attained.  Civilization  means  our  civilization.  Let 
us  assume  that  the  highest  and  richest  display  of  what  we  conceive  by  the  term  is 
to  be  found  among  ourselves,  and  it  must  appear  of  the  highest  importance  for 
the  understanding  of  the  thing  itself  to  trace  back  the  unfolding  of  this  flower  to 
its  germ.     We  shall  only  attain  our  aim  of  getting  an  insight  into  the  nature  and 


NATURE,  RISE,  AND  SPREAD   OF  CIVILIZATION  25 

essence  of  civilisation  when  we  understand  the  impelling  force  which  has  evolved 
it  from  its  first  beginning. 

Every  people  has  intellectual  gifts,  and  develops  them  in  its  daily  life.  Each 
can  claim  a  certain  sum  of  knowledge  and  power  which  represents  its  civilization. 
But  the  difference  between  the  various  "  sums  of  acquirement  of  the  intelligence  " 
resides  not  only  in  their  magnitude,  but  in  their  power  of  growth.  To  use  an 
image,  a  civilized  race  is  like  a  mighty  tree  which  in  the  growth  of  centuries  has 
raised  itself  to  a  bulk  and  permanency  far  above  the  lowly  and  transitory  condition 
of  races  deficient  in  civilization.  There  are  plants  which  die  off  every  year,  and 
others  that  from  herbs  become  mighty  trees.  The  distinction  lies  in  the  power 
of  retaining,  piling  up,  and  securing  the  results  of  each  individual  year's  growth. 
So  would  even  this  transitory  growth  of  savage  races — which  have  in  fact  been 
jCalled  the  undergrowth  of  peoples — beget  something  permanent,  draw  every  new 
generation  higher  towards  the  light,  and  afford  it  firmer  supports  in  the  achieve- 
ments of  predecessors,  if  the  impulse  to  retain  and  secure  were  operative  in  it. 
But  this  is  lacking  ;  and  so  it  befalls  that  all  these  plants  destined  for  a  larger 
growth  remain  on  the  ground  and  perish  in  misery,  striving  for  the  air  and  light 
which  above  they  might  have  enjoyed  to  the  full.  Civilization  is  the  product  of 
many  generations  of  men. 

The  confinement,  in  space  as  in  time,  which  isolates  huts,  villages,  races,  no 
less  than  successive  generations,  involves  the  negation  of  culture  ;  in  its  opposite, 
the  intercourse  of  contemporaries  and  the  interdependence  of  ancestors  and 
successors,  lies  the  possibility  of  development.  The  union  of  contemporaries 
secures  the  retention  of  culture,  the  linking  of  generations  its  unfolding.  The 
development  of  civilization  is  a  process  of  hoarding.  The  hoards  grow  of  them- 
selves so  soon  as  a  retaining  power  watches  over  them.  In  all  domains  of 
human  creation  and  operation  we  shall  see  the  basis  of  all  higher  development 
in  intercourse.  Only  through  co-operation  and  mutual  help,  whether  between 
contemporaries,  whether  from  one  generation  to  another,  has  mankind  succeeded  in 
climbing  to  the  stage  of  civilization  on  which  its  highest  members  now  stand.  On 
the  nature  and  extent  of  this  intercourse  the  growth  depends.  Thus  the  numerous 
small  assemblages  of  equal  importance,  formed  by  the  family  stocks,  in  which  the 
individual  had  no  freedom,  were  less  favourable  to  it  than  the  larger  communi- 
ties and  states  of  the  modern  world,  with  their  encouragement  to  individual 
competition. 

As  the  essential  feature  in  the  highest  development  of  culture,  we  note  the 
largest  and  most  intimate  interdependence  among  themselves  and  with  past 
generations  of  all  fellow-strivers  after  it ;  and  as  a  result  of  it,  the  largest  possible 
sum  of  achievement  and  acquisition.  Between  this  and  the  opposite  extreme  lie 
all  the  intermediate  stages  which  we  comprise  under  the  name  "  semi-civilization." 
This  notion  of  a  "  half-way  house  "  deserves  a  few  words.  When  we  see  energetic- 
ally at  work  in  the  highest  civilization  the  forces  which  retain,  as  well  as  those 
concerned  with  extending  and  reshaping,  the  building,  in  semi-civilization  it  is 
essentially  the  former  which  are  called  into  most  activity,  while  the  latter  remain 
behind  and  thereby  bring  about  the  inferiority  of  that  state  of  things.  The  one- 
sidedness  and  incompleteness  of  semi-civilization  lie  on  the  side  of  intellectual 
progress,  while  on  the  material  side  development  sets  in  sooner.  Two  hundred 
years  ago,  when  Europe  and  North  America  had  not  yet  taken  the  giant's  stride 


26  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

which  steam,  iron,  and  electricity  have  rendered  possible,  China  and  Japan  caused 
the  greatest  astonishment  to  European  travellers  by  their  achievements  in 
agriculture,  manufactures,  and  trade,  and  even  by  their  canals  and  roads,  which 
have  now  fallen  far  towards  dilapidation.  But  Europeans,  and  the  daughter  races 
in  America  and  Australia,  have  in  the  last  two  hundred  years  not  only  caught  up 
this  start,  but  gone  far  ahead.  Here  we  may  perceive  the  solution  of  the  riddle 
presented  by  Chinese  civilization,  both  in  the  height  it  has  reached  and  its 
stationary  character,  and  indeed  by  all  semi-civilization.  What  but  the  light  in 
free  intellectual  creation  has  made  the  west  so  far  outrun  the  east  ?  Voltaire 
hits  the  point  when  he  says  that  Nature  has  given  the  Chinese  the  organs  for 

I  discovering  all  that  is  useful  to  them  but  not  for  going  any  further.  They  have 
become  great  in  the  useful,  in  the  arts  of  practical  life ;  while  we  are  indebted  to 
them  for  no  one  deeper  insight  into  the  connection  and  causes  of  phenomena,  for 
no  single  theory. 

Does  this  lack  arise  from  a  deficiency  in  their  endowments,  or  does  it  lie  in 
the  rigidity  of  their  social  and  political  organisation,  which  favours  mediocrity  and 
suppresses  genius  ?  Since  it  is  maintained  through  all  changes  of  their  organisa- 
tion, we  must  decide  for  the  defect  in  their  endowments,  which  also  is  the  sole 
cause  of  the  rigidity  in  their  social  system.  No  doubt  the  future  alone  can  give 
a  decisive  answer,  for  it  will  in  the  first  place  have  to  be  shown  whether  and  how 
far  these  races  will  progress  on  the  ways  of  civilization  which  Europe  and  North 
America  vie  in  pointing  out  to  them  ;  for  there  has  long  been  no  doubt  that  they 
will  or  must  set  foot  on  them.  But  we  shall  not  come  to  the  solution  of  this 
question  if  we  approach  it  from  the  point  of  view  of  complete  civilization,  which 
sees  in  the  incompleteness  of  China  and  Japan  the  signs  of  a  thoroughly  lower 
stage  of  the  whole  of  life,  and  frequently  at  the  same  time  signs  of  an  entire 
absence  of  hope  in  all  attempts  at  a  higher  flight.  If  they  possess  in  themselves 
only  the  capacities  for  semi-civilization,  the  need  of  progress  will  bring  more  powerful 
organs  to  their  head  and  gradually  modify  the  mass  of  the  people  by  immigration 
from  Europe  and  North  America.  This  process  may  have  first  raised  to  its  present 
height  many  a  civilized  race  of  to-day;  we  may  refer  to  the  Russians  and 
Hungarians,  and  to  the  fact  that  millions  of  German,  and  other  immigrants  have 
stimulated  in  many  ways  the  progress  of  these  semi-Mongols  in  Europe. 

The  sum  of  the  acquirements  of  civilization  in  every  stage  and  in  every  race 
is  composed  of  material  and  intellectual  possessions.      It   is  important  to   keep 

'  them  apart,  since  they  are  of  very  different  significance  for  the  intrinsic  value  of 
the  total  civilization,  and  above  all  for  its  capacity  of  development.  They  are  not 
acquired  with  like  means  nor  with  equal  ease,  nor  simultaneously.  The  material 
lies  at  the  base  of  the  intellectual.  Intellectual  creations  come  as  the  luxury 
after  bodily  needs  are  satisfied.  Every  question,  therefore,  as  to  the  origin  of 
civilization  resolves  itself  into  the  question  :  what  favours  the  development  of  its 
material  foundations  ?  Now  here  we  must  in  the  first  place  proclaim  that  when 
the  way  to  this  development  is  once  opened  by  the  utilisation  of  natural  means 

for  the  aims  of  man,  it  is  not  Nature's  wealth  in  material  but  in  force or  rather,  to 

put  it  better,  in  stimulus  to  force, — which  must  be  most  highly  estimated.  The 
gifts  of  Nature  most  valuable  for  man  are  those  through  which  his  latent 
sources  of  force  are  thrown  open  in  permanent  activity.  Obviously  this  can 
least  be  brought  about  by  that  wealth  or  so-called  bounty  of  Nature  which  spares 


NATURE,  RISE,  AND  SPREAD   OF  CIVILIZATION  27 

him  certain  labours  that  under  other  circumstances  would  be  necessary.  The 
warmth  of  the  tropics  makes  the  task  of  housing  and  clothing  himself  much 
lighter  than  in  the  temperate  zone.  If  we  compare  the  possibilities  which  Nature 
can  afford  with  those  that  dwell  in  the  spirit  of  man,  the  distinction  is  very- 
forcible,  and  lies  mainly  in  the  following  directions.  The  gifts  of  Nature  in  them- 
selves are  in  the  long  run  unchangeable  in  kind  and  quantity,  but  the  supply  of 
the  most  necessary  varies  from  year  to  year  and  cannot  be  reckoned  on.  They 
are  bound  up  with  certain  external  circumstances,  confined  to  certain  zones, 
particular  elevations,  various  kinds  of  soil.  Man's  power  over  them  is  originally 
limited  by  narrow  barriers  which  he  can  widen  but  never  break  down  by  develop- 
ing the  forces  of  his  intellect  and  will.  His  own  forces,  on  the  contrary,  belong 
entirely  to  him.  He  cannot  only  dispose  of  their  application  but  can  also 
multiply  and  strengthen  them  without  any  limit  that  has,  at  least  up  to  the 
present,  been  drawn.  Nothing  gives  a  more  striking  lesson  of  the  way  in  which 
the  utilisation  of  Nature  depends  upon  the  will  of  man  than  the  likeness  of  the 
conditions  in  which  all  savage  races  live  in  all  parts  of  the  earth,  in  all  climates, 
in  all  altitudes. 

It  is  due  to  no  accident  that  the  word  "  culture  "  also  denotes  the  tillage  of  the 
ground.  Here  is  its  etymological  root ;  here,  too,  the  root  of  all  that  we  under- 
stand by  it  in  its  widest  sense.^  The  storage  by  means  of  labour  of  a  sum  of 
force  in  a  clod  of  earth  is  the  best  and  most  promising  beginning  of  that  non- 
dependence  upon  Nature  which  finds  its  mark  in  the  domination  of  her  by  the 
intellect.  It  is  thus  that  link  is  most  easily  added  to  link  in  the  chain  of  develop- 
ment, for  in  the  yearly  repetition  of  labour  on  the  same  soil  creative  force  is 
concentrated  and  tradition  secured ;  and  thus  the  fundamental  conditions  of 
civilization  come  to  birth. 

The  natural  conditions  which  permit  the  amassing  of  wealth  from  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  and  the  labour  bestowed  thereon,  are  thus  undoubtedly  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  the  development  of  civilization.  But  it  is  unsafe  to  say  with  Buckle 
that  there  is  no  example  in  history  of  a  country  that  has  become  civilized  by  its 
own  exertions  without  possessing  some  one  of  those  conditions  in  a  highly 
favourable  form.  For  the  first  existence  of  mankind,  warm  moist  regions  blessed 
with  abundance  of  fruits  were  unquestionably  most  desirable,  and  it  is  easiest  to 
conceive  of  the  original  man  as  a  dweller  in  the  tropics.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
if  we  are  to  conceive  of  civilization  as  a  development  of  human  forces  upon  Nature 
and  by  means  of  Nature,  this  can  only  have  come  about  through  some  compulsion 
setting  man  amid  less  favourable  conditions  where  he  had  to  look  after  himself 
with  more  care  than  in  the  soft  cradle  of  the  tropics.  This  points  to  the  temperate 
zones,  in  which  we  may  no  less  surely  see  the  cradle  of  civilization  than  in  the 
tropics  that  of  the  race.  In  the  high  plateaux  of  Mexico  and  Upper  Peru  we 
have  land  less  fruitful  than  the  surrounding  lowlands,  and  accordingly  in  these 
plateaux  we  find  the  highest  development  in  all  America.  Even  now,  with 
cultivation  carried  to  a  high  pitch,  they  look  as  dry  and  barren  as  steppes 
compared  with  the  luxuriant  natural  beauties  of  many  places  in  the  lowlands, 
or   on   the   terraces   not   a   day's  journey  distant.      In  tropical  and  sub-tropical 

^  [Of  course  its  employment  to  denote  the  cultivation  or  refinement  of  the  mind  and  manners  (which  though 
found  in  classical  Latin  seems  comparatively  recent  in  English)  is  a  mere  metaphor,  without  any  suggestion  of 
the  fact  noticed  in  this  paragraph.] 


28  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

•countries  the  fertility  of  the  soil  generally  diminishes  at  high  elevations,  and  in 
whatever  climatic  conditions,  high  plateaux  are  never  so  fruitful  as  lowland,  hilly 
countries,  and  mountain  slopes.  Now  these  civilizations  were  both  situated  on 
high  plateaux  ;  of  that  in  Mexico,  the  centre  and  capital,  Tenochtitlan  —  the 
modern  city  of  Mexico — lay  at  a  height  of  7560  feet,  while  Cuzco,  in  Peru, 
is  no  less  than  11,500.  In  both  these  regions  temperature  and  rainfall  are 
considerably  lower  than  in  the  greater  part  of  Central  and  South  America. 

This  brings  us  to  the  recognition  of  the  fact  that,  though  civilization  in  its 
first  growth  is  intimately  connected  with  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  as  it  develops 
farther  there  is  no  necessary  relation  between  the  two.  As  a  nation  grows  its 
civilization  sets  itself  free  from  the  soil,  and,  in  proportion  as  it  develops,  creates 
for  itself  ever  fresh  organs  which  serve  for  other  purposes  than  enabling  it  to  take 
root.  One  might  say  that  in  agriculture  there  resides  a  natural  weakness,  which 
may  be  explained  not  only  through  want  of  familiarity  with  weapons,  but  through 
the  desire  of  possession  and  a  settled  life  enfeebling  to  courage  and  enterprise. 
We  find,  on  the  contrary,  the  highest  expression  of  political  force  among  the 
hunter  and  shepherd  races,  who  are  in  many  respects  the  natural  antipodes  of  the 
agriculturists — the  shepherds  especially,  who  unite  agility  with  the  faculty  of 
moving  in  masses,  and  discipline  with  force.  The  very  faculties  which  are  a 
hindrance  to  the  agriculturist  in  developing  that  power,  can  here  be  turned  to 
advantageous  account, — the  absence  of  settled  abode,  mobility,  the  exercise  of 
strength,  courage,  and  skill  with  weapons.  And,  as  we  look  over  the  earth,  we  find 
that  in  fact  the  firmest  organisations  among  the  so-called  semi-civilized  races  result 
from  a  blend  of  these  elements.  The  distinctly  agricultural  Chinese  have  been 
ruled  first  by  the  Mongols,  then  by  the  Mantchus ;  the  Persians  by  sovereigns 
from  Turkestan  ;  the  Egyptians  successively  by  Hyksos,  or  shepherd  kings,  Arabs, 
and  Turks — all  nomadic  races.  In  Central  Africa  the  nomadic  Wahuma  founded 
and  maintained  the  stable  states  of  Uganda  and  Unyoro,  while  in  the  countries 
that  surround  the  Soudan  every  single  state  was  founded  by  invaders  from  the 
desert.  In  Mexico  the  rougher  Aztecs  subdued  the  more  refined  agricultural 
Toltecs.  In  the  history  of  places  in  the  borderland  between  the  steppe  and 
cultivated  lands  a  series  of  cases  will  be  found  establishing  this  rule,  which  may 
be  recognised  as  a  historical  law.  Thus  the  reason  why  the  less  fertile  high 
plateaux  and  the  districts  nearest  to  them  have  been  so  favourable  to  the  develop- 
ment of  higher  civilization  and  the  formation  of  civilized  states,  is  not  because  they 
offered  a  cooler  climate  and  consequent  inducement  to  agriculture,  but  because  they 
brought  about  the  union  of  the  conquering  and  combining  powers  of  the  nomads 
-with  the  industry  and  labour  of  the  agriculturists  who  crowded  into  the  oases  of 
cultivation  but  could  not  form  states.  That  lakes  have  played  a  certain  part  2.% points 
(Tappui  and  centres  of  crystallisation  for  such  states,  as  seen  in  the  cases  of  Lake 
Titicaca  in  Peru,  the  lagoons  of  Tezcoco  and  Chalco  in  Mexico,  Lakes  Ukerewe 
and  Tchad  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  is  an  interesting  but  less  essential  phenomenon. 
Beyond  the  historic  operation  of  climatic  peculiarities  in  favouring  or  checking 
civilization,  diff-erences  of  climate  interfere  most  eff-ectually  by  producing  large 
regions  where  similar  conditions  prevail— regions  of  civilization  which  are  disposed 
hke  a  belt  round  the  globe.  These  may  be  called  civilized  zones.  The  real  zone 
of  civilization,  according  to  all  the  experience  which  history  up  to  the  present  day 
puts  at  the  disposal  of  mankind,  is  the  temperate.      More  than  one  group  of  facts 


NATURE,  RISE,  AND  SPREAD   OF  CIVILIZATION 


29 


corroborates  this.  The  most  important  historical  developments,  most  organically 
connected,  most  steadily  progressing  in  and  by  means  of  this  connection,  and 
externally  most  exciting,  belong  to  this  zone.  That  it  was  no  accident  which  made 
the  heart  of  ancient  history  beat  in  this  zone  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  we  may 
learn  from  the  persistency  of  the  most  effective  historical  development  in  the 
temperate  zone  even  after  the  circle  of  history  had  been  widened  beyond  Europe, 
ay,  even  after  the  transplantation  of  European  culture  to  those  new  worlds  which 
sprang  up  in  America,  Africa,  and  Australia.  No  doubt  an 
infinite  number  of  threads  are  plaited  into  this  great  web  , 
but  since  all  that  races  do  rests  ultimately  upon  the  deeds  of 
individuals,  the  one  which  has  been  most  fruitful  in  results  is 
undoubtedly  the  crowding  together  in  the  temperate  zone  of 
the  greatest  possible  number  of  individuals  most  capable  of 
achievement,  and  the  arrangement  in  succession  and  compre 
hension  of  the  individual  civilized  districts  in  one  civilized 
belt,  where  the  conditions  were  most  favourable  to  inter- 
course, exchange,  the  increasing  and  securing  of  the  store  of 
culture  ;  where,  in  other  words,  the  maintenance  and  develop 
ment  of  culture  could  display  its  activity  on  the  largest 
geographical  foundation. 

Old  semi -civilizations,  whose  relics  we  meet  with  in 
tropical  countries,  belong  to  a  period  when  civilization  did 
not  make  such  mighty  demands  upon  the  labours  of  indi 
viduals,  and  when  for  that  very  reason  its  blossom  sooner 
faded.  A  study  of  the  geographical  extension  of  old  and 
new  civilization  seems  to  show  that  as  the  tastes  of  civiliza 
tion  grew,  the  belt  comprising  it  shrank  into  the  regions 
where  the  great  capacity  for  achievement  co-existed  with  the 
temperate  climates.  This  observation  is  important  for  the 
history  of  the  primitive  human  race  and  of  its  extension,  and 
for  the  interpretation  of  the  relics  of  civilization  in  tropical 
countries.  Another  mode  in  which  civilization  may  perish  is 
through  the  absorption  of  higher  races  by  lower,  who  profit 
by  the  advantage  of  better  adaptation  to  conditions  of  hard- 
ship. The  despised  Skraelings  have  merged  themselves  in 
the  Northmen  of  Greenland.  And  has  not  every  group  of 
Europeans  that  has  penetrated  the  Arctic  ice-wastes,  during 
the  period  of  its  stay  in  those  dreary  fields,  been  obliged  to  accustom  itself 
to  Eskimo  habits,  and  to  learn  the  arts  and  dexterities  of  the  Arctic  people  in 
order  successfully  to  maintain  the  fight  with  Nature's  powers  in  the  Polar  zone  ? 
But  so  has  many  a  bit  of  colonisation  on  tropical  and  polar  soil  ended  in  falling 
to  the  level  of  the  wants  of  the  natives.  The  colonising  power  of  the  Portuguese 
in  Africa,  the  Russians  in  Asia,  lies  in  their  ability  to  do  this  more  effectually 
than  their  competitors. 

Yet  a  civilization,  self-contained  and  complete,  even  with  imperfect  means,  is 
morally  and  aesthetically  a  higher  phenomenon  than  one  which  is.  decomposing  in 
the  process  of  upward  effort  and  growth.  For  this  reason  the  first  results  of  the 
contact  between  a  higher  and  a  lower  civilization  are  not  delightful  where  the 


Indian  Mirror  from  Texas, 
(Stoclcholm  Ethnograph- 
ical Museum. ) 


30  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

higher  is  represented  by  the  scum  of  a  world,  the  lower  by  people  complete  in  a 
narrow  space  and  contented  with  the  filling  up  of  their  own  narrow  circle.  Think 
of  the  first  settlements  of  whalers  and  runaway  sailors  in  countries  rich  in  art  and 
tradition  like  New  Zealand  and  Hawaii,  and  of  the  effects  produced  by  the  first 
brandy-shop  and  brothel.  In  the  case  of  North  America,  Schoolcraft  first  pointed 
out  the  rapid  decay  which  befell  all  native  industrial  activity  as  a  result  of  the 
introduction  by  the  white  men  of  more  suitable  tools,  vessels,  clothing,  and  so 
forth.  European  trade  provided  easily  everything  which  hitherto  had  had  to  be 
produced  by  dint  of  long-protracted,  wearisome  labour ;  ^  and  native  activity  not 
only  fell  off  in  the  field  where  it  had  achieved  important  results,  but  saw  itself 
weakened,  and  lost  the  sense  of  necessity  and  self-reliance,  and  so  in  course  of 
time  art  itself  perished.  As  we  know,  the  same  is  going  on  to-day  in  Polynesia, 
in  Africa,  and  among  the  poorest  Eskimo.  In  Africa  it  is  a  declared  rule  that  on 
the  coast  you  have  a  region  of  decomposition,  behind  that  a  higher  civilization, 
and  the  best  of  all  in  the  untouched  far  interior.  Even  the  art  of  Japan, 
independent  as  it  was,  deteriorated  after  a  glimpse  of  artistically  inferior  European 
patterns. 


§   s.  LANGUAGE 

Language  is  a  universal  faculty  of  modern  mankind — Power  of  natural  races  to  learn  languages — Changes  in 
languages — Is  there  a  relation  between  racial  and  linguistic  peculiarities  ? — Origin,  growth,  and  decay  of 
language— Fossil  words  :  dialect  and  language— Relation  between  language  and  degree  of  civilization- 
Poor  and  rich  languages — Modes  of  expressing  number  and  colour — Gesture — Speech — Writing. 

"  Man  is  so  endowed,  so  circumstanced,  and  such  is  his  history,  that  speech  is 
everywhere  and  without  exception  his  possession.  And  as  speech  is  the  property 
of  all  men,  so  is  it  the  privilege  of  humanity ;  only  man  possesses  speech." 
Thus  Herder;  and  we  may  add  that  mankind  possesses  it  in  no  materially  different 
measure.  Every  people  can  learn  the  language  of  every  other.  We  see  daily 
examples  of  the  complete  mastery  of  foreign  languages,  and  therein  the  civilized 
races  have  no  absolute  superiority  over  the  savage.  Many  of  the  persons  in  high 
position  in  Uganda  speak  Swahili,  some  Arabic  ;  many  of  the  Nyamwesi  have 
learnt  the  same  language.  In  the  trading  centres  of  the  West  African  coast 
there  are  Negroes  enough  who  know  two  or  three  languages ;  and  in  the  Indian 
schools  in  Canada  nothing  astonishes  the  missionaries  so  much  as  the  ease  with 
which  the  youthful  Redskin  picks  up  French  and  English. 

The  media  of  language,  sounds  no  less  than  the  accompanying  gestures,  are 
very  similar  all  the  earth  over;  and  the  inner  structure  of  language  not  very 
discrepant.  It  may  be  said  that  human  language  is  one  at  the  root,  which  strikes 
deep  into  the  human  mind  ;  but  it  has  parted  into  many  very  various  branches  and 
twigs.  Innumerable  languages,  diverging  from  each  other  in  every  degree,  dialects, 
sister  and  daughter  languages,  independent  families  of  languages,  fill  the  homes 
and  homesteads  of  mankind  with  varied  tones.  Some  races  can  still  pretty  well 
understand   each   other ;    in    some   languages,   a   little   farther   removed,   even    a 

1  [Cf.  Lang,  Myth,  Ritual,  and  Religion,  vol.  i.  p.  187,  "  He  created  the  white  man  to  make  tools  for 
the  poor  Indians,"  said  the  Winnibagoes  to  a  white  inquirer.] 


LANGUAGE  31 


superficial  observer  detects  similarities  ;  in  others  these  lie  so  deep  that  only- 
science  can  find  them.  Lastly,  a  great  number  are  to  all  appearance  quite 
different — not  only  in  the  words  but  in  their  structure,  in  the  relations  they 
express,  the  parts  of  speech  which  they  distinguish.  But  these  distinctions  are 
by  no  means  associated  with  mental  differences  in  the  speakers.  Individuals  of  every 
variety  of  endowment  use  the  same  language,  while  minds  equally  endowed  and 
working  on  the  same  lines  cannot  make  themselves  understood  to  each  other. 
Nor  does  language  go  with  geographical,  often  not  with  racial,  distinctions.  How 
much  wider  is  the  gap  between  the  Englishman  and  the  English-speaking  Negro 
than  that  between  the  Chinese  and  the  Micronesian  who  linguistically  is  so  far 
from  him  !  The  importance  of  language  to  ethnology  must  be  sought  elsewhere 
than  in  proof  of  racial  affinity  based  on  affinity  of  speech.  Language  must 
always  appear  as  the  preliminary  condition  to  all  the  work  of  civilization  among 
mankind.  It  may  be  called  the  first  and  most  important,  even  the  characteristic, 
implement  of  man.  But,  like  every  other  tool,  it  is  liable  to  alteration.  In  the 
course  of  centuries  a  word  can  assume  very  various  meanings,  can  disappear 
altogether,  can  be  replaced  by  some  expressly-invented  word,  or  one  taken  from 
another  language.  Like  a  tool,  it  is  laid  aside  and  taken  up  again.  Not  only 
do  individuals  lose  their  mother-tongue,  like  Narcisse  Pelletier  who,  after  twelve 
years  in  the  Australian  bush,  became  himself  a  savage,  or  the  Akka  Mianis  who, 
brought  as  boys  to  Italy,  had  in  a  few  years  wholly  forgotten  their  native  speech  ; 
but  whole  races  abandon  one  language  and  take  to  another,  as  if  it  were  a  suit  of 
clothes.  Some  of  the  acquirements  of  civilization  are  more  permanent  than  language, 
as  the  science  of  cattle-breeding.  If  the  comparative  study  of  religion  teaches  us 
that  the  names  change  while  the  thing  remains,  we  may  find  here  good  evidence  for 
the  higher  degree  of  changeableness  shown  by  language  in  comparison  with  other 
ethnographic  characteristics.  We  should  not  think  it  necessary  to  linger  over 
a  point  so  obvious  to  all  who  know  anything  about  the  life  of  races,  were  it  not 
that  linguistic  classification  is  still  apt  to  be  mixed  up  with  anthropology  and 
ethnography.  Even  so  great  an  authority  on  philology  as  Lepsius  has  found 
it  necessary  to  protest  against  the  notion  that  races  and  languages  correspond  in 
origin  and  affinities,  as  is  still  far  too  largely  supposed.  "  The  diffusion  and 
mingling  of  races  goes  its  way  :  that  of  languages,  though  constantly  affected  by 
the  other,  its  own — often  very  different.  Languages  are  the  most  individual 
creation  of  races,  often  the  most  immediate  expression  of  their  minds ;  but  they 
often  escape  from  their  creators,  and  overspread  great  foreign  peoples  and  races, 
or  die  out,  while  those '  who  formerly  used  them  live  on,  speaking  quite  other 
tongues."  It  is  clear  that  in  the  light  of  such  deeper  considerations,  conceptions 
like  that  of  an  Indo-Germanic  race,  a  Semitic  race,  a  Bantu  race,  are  not  only 
valueless,  but  to  be  wholly  rejected  as  misleading ;  and  that,  incalculably  great  as 
may  have  been  the  value  and  influence  of  languages  as  a  support  and  staff  in  the 
mental  development  of  mankind,  their  importance  as  an  indication  of  distinctions 
within  mankind  is  uncommonly  small.  While  hunting-savages  like  the  Bushmen 
speak  a  finely-constructed  and  copious  language,  we  find  among  the  race  which  has 
developed  the  highest  and  most  permanent  civilization  of  Asia  what,  according  to 
evolutionary  views,  must  be  a  most  simple  language, — the  uninflected  Chinese 
with  its  450  root  words,  which  may  be  put  together  like  pieces  in  a  puzzle  and 
taken  apart  again,  remaining  all  the  time  unaltered.      Under  these  circumstances 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


it  is  no  doubt  possible  to  make  a  pedigree  of  languages,  but  we  cannot  be  expected 
to  believe  that  anything  is  thereby  gained  towards  the  pedigree  of  mankind,  when 
we  iind  a  poorly  organised  language  spoken  by  one  of  the  highest  races,  and  a 
highly  organised  one  by  one  of  the  lowest.  The  newer  philology  appears  indeed 
to  promise  less  than  formerly  in  the  way  of  a  universal  pedigree  of  languages. 
Monosyllabic  speech,  which  once  grew  at  the  root  of  the  tree  of  language,  is  now 
thought  to  owe  its  poverty  and  stiffness  rather  to  retrogression  than  to  undevelop- 
ment,  while  the  South  African  clicks,  once  compared  with  the  chatter  of  birds  and 
other  animals,  are  now  regarded  less  as  survivals  from  the  brute  than  as  the 
characteristic  expression  of  linguistic  indolence  and  decay.  We  hear  no  more 
about  remains  of  the  primitive  speech,  but  see  in  this  domain  only  development 
and  retrogression. 

The  universality  of  language  is  the  simple  result  of  the  fact  that  all  portions 
of  mankind  have  existed  long  enough  to  develop  the  germs  of  their  capacity  for 
speech  to  the  point  at  which  we  can  apply  the  term  language.  Not  only 
Haeckel's  Alali  has  long  passed  into  oblivion ;  all  his  successors  with  their 
imperfect  or  childish  speech  are  no  more.  But  here  the  universalness  extends 
farther ;  modern  languages  are  organised  to  a  very  similar  pitch.  Herein 
language  is  like  certain  universal  arts  or  implements,  which  are  just  as  good 
among  savage  as  among  civilized  folk.  Does  not  the  like  hold  good  with  the 
universal  spread  of  the  religious  idea,  the  artistic  impulse,  the  simpler  utensil  ? 
At  the  basis  of  speech  lies  the  desire  to  impart ;  it  is  thus  the  product  not  of  the 
single  man  but  of  Man  in  society  and  history.  For  the  sake  of  and  by  means  of 
imparting  we  acquire  our  earliest  knowledge :  it  develops  and  enriches  the 
language  ;  it  creates  its  unity  by  limiting  the  exuberance  of  dialectic  variations. 
We  speak,  to  be  understood  ;  we  hear  and  learn,  to  understand  ;  we  speak  as  is 
intelligible,  as  others  do,  not  as  we  ourselves  want  to  do.  So  far  speech  is  the 
dearest  and  most  universal  sign  of  the  important  effect  of  social  life  in  limiting 
individualism. 

All  languages  now  existing  are  old  in  themselves  or  descended  from  old 
families  ;  all  bear  the  traces  of  historic  development ;  all  are  far  from  their  first 
origin,  and  for  their  interpretation  philology  has  now  laid  aside  the  "  bow-wow " 
theory.  Itself  drawn  from  the  mobile  mouth  of  the  living  man,  and  remaining 
close  to  the  mind,  the  starting-point  of  living  expression,  language  bears  the 
stamp  of  life,  constant  change.  Even  if  it  survives  the  generations  of  those  who 
spoke  it,  yet  it  lives  with  them  and  undergoes  changes  ;  dying  at  last  itself  The 
old  Egyptian  died  even  before  the  Egyptian  civilization  ;  old  Greek  did  not  long 
survive  the  independent  existence  of  the  Greek  race  ;  Latin  fell  with  Rome.' 
These  three  languages  did  not  die  childless  ;  they  survive  in  Coptic,  Modern 
Greek,  and  the  Romance  languages  respectively.  More  rarely  do  languages  perish 
without  successors  as  Gothic  has  done.  Yet  even  this  has  been  survived  by 
languages  nearly  akin  to  it,  which  represent  the  family.      Basque,  standing  solitary 

1  [This  statement  seems  to  need  qualification.  Muller  and  Donaldson  give  several  pages  of  names  of  "old" 
Greek  authors  subsequent  to  B.  c.  146,  including  Meleager,  Dionysius,  Strabo,  Philo  Judaeus,  Epictetus,  Plutarch, 
Appian,  Galen,  Lucian,  Clement,  Eusebius,  Chrysostom,  Longus,  Anna  Comnena,  Demetrius  Chalcondyles.  ■ 
As  to  Latin,  if  we  knew  when  the  "  fall  of  Rome  "  occurred  we  could  better  test  the  accuracy  of  the  illustration. . 
Certainly  the  language  continued  to  thrive  for  nearly  1000  years  after  the  removal  of  the  Emperor's  residence 
to  Byzantium.  But  to  say  that  a  language  dies  is  a  misleading  metaphor.  No  one  generation  notices  any 
material  change.] 


LANGUAGE  33 


as  it  does  with  no  near  kinship  to  any  contemporary  tongue,  will  die,  and  with  it 
a  primeval  family  will  become  extinct.  It  is  only  the  mutability  of  languages 
that  prevents  us  from  seeing  in  them  the  characteristic  marks  of  an  old  connection, 
the  support  of  that  uniformity  which  we  find  in  myths  and  material  objects. 
Yet  we  venture  to  predict  that  success  will  one  day  attend  the  effort  to  ascertain 
the  elements  of  speech  in  their  world-wide  distribution. 

Meantime  in  the  life  of  every  language  a  gradual  dying  off  and  renewal  is 
taking  place  in  many  forms.  Words  become  obsolete,  pass  out  of  use,  or  survive 
only  in  religion  and  poetry.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  since  i6i  i,  388  words 
have  become  obsolete  in  English.  There  are  besides  innumerable  changes  in 
pronunciation,  spelling,  and  meaning.  Old  forms  of  speech  still  in  use,  but  long 
become  unintelligible,  are  frequent  in  the  unthinking  life  of  the  natural  races. 
Thus  a  Fijian  in  battle  challenging  his  opponent,  shouts  Sai  tava  1  Sat  tava  !  Ka 
yau  mat  ka  yavia  a  bure,  that  is  "  Cut  up  !  Cut  up !  the  temple  receives." 
But  no  man  knows  what  the  words  mean,  though  they  are  held  to  be  very 
ancient.  How  with  new  things,  new  words  and  terms  of  speech  are  imported,  or 
rather  import  themselves,  into  language,  the  age  of  railways  and  steamers  has 
shown  ;  by  their  means  the  language  of  all  civilized  races  has  been  enriched  with 
hundreds  of  new  words.  The  Azandeh  or  Nyam-Nyams  assert  that  many  v/ords 
which  were  in  use  among  their  ancestors  are  at  present  no  longer  employed. 
Junker  believes  in  a  rapid  transformation  of  the  African  languages  ;  while  Lepsius 
attaches  little  value  to  their  store  of  words,  and  describes  even  their  syntactical 
usage  as  remarkably  unstable.  Alteration  is  naturally  more  frequent  in- unwritten 
languages  than  where  writing  has  produced  a  certain  petrifying  effect  on  speech  ; 
and  if  we  must  admit  the  assertion  of  philologists  that  the  life-blood  of  a  language 
is  to  be  found  not  in  its  written  form  but  in  dialects,  we  can  understand  that  we 
have  to  regard  languages  as  organisms  no  less  variable  than  plants  or  animals. 
While  writing  tends  to  fix  a  language  in  a  given  form,  the  more  fruitful  and  wider 
intercourse  of  races  that  have  writing  has  at  the  same  time  a  tendency  to  widen 
the  area  over  which  a  dialect  or  a  language  is  distributed.  We  may  put  it  that 
races  without  writing  speak  only  dialects,  while  languages  are  possessed  by  those 
alone  who  write.  But  where  is  the  boundary  between  dialect  and  language  ?  At 
the  present  day  we  understand  by  a  language  a  dialect  which  has  become  fixed 
by  writing  and  widely  spread  by  dint  of  intercourse.  Especially  is  the  literary 
language  rather  an  artificial  than  a  natural  form  of  speech.  Dialects  we  conceive 
as  languages  less  copious,  less  definitely  settled  and  brought  under  rule,  and  hence 
more  exposed  to  change,  even  of  an  arbitrary  kind.  But  this  is  only  so  long  as 
we  compare  them  with  written  languages.  Of  the  300  tribes  of  the  many- 
languaged  Colchis,  to  do  business  with  whom  the  Romans,  as  Pliny  tells  us, 
required  130  interpreters,  which  spoke  a  language,  which  a  dialect  ?  At  this  stage 
only  dialects  are  spoken,  every  tribe  having  its  own  ;  and  we  need  not  be  so  much 
surprised  at  the  Colchians  when  seventy  dialects  are  reckoned  in  modern  Greek. 
What  produces  language  and  what  preserves  dialects  we  can  see  by  comparing 
the  wide  diffusion  of  Burmese  in  the  thickly-peopled  countries  of  Burma,  Pegu, 
and  Arakan  with  their  brisk  commerce,  and  the  far  more  limited  area  of  languages 
in  the  hill  countries  of  the  Upper  Irawaddy,  where  Gordon  collected  twelve  dialects 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Manipur  alone,  and  where  often  thirty  or  forty  families 
speak  a  dialect  of  their  own,  unintelligible  to  others.      This  is  the  scale   by  which 

D 


34  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

we  have  to  measure  the  frequent  statements  as  to  the  immoderate  number  of 
languages  among  small  nations.  The  multiplicity  of  the  dialects  spoken  by  the 
Bushmen  which  show  differences  even  between  groups  separated  only  by  a  range 
of  hills  or  a  river,  is  referred  by  Moffat  exclusively  to  the  fact  of  their  stage  of 
culture  allowing  of  no  common  centre,  no  common  interests,  in  short  neither 
possessing  nor  producing  anything  which  might  contribute  to  the  fixing  of  a 
standard  language.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  language  of  the  Bechuana 
Bushmen,  the  Balala,  who  live  as  a  race  of  pariahs  with  and  among  the 
Bechuanas,  is  a  much-altered  idiom  showing  many  peculiarities  in  different  groups, 
while  fheir  masters  the  Bechuanas  maintain  and  propagate  their  language,  the 
Sechuana,  in  a  pure  form  by  means  of  public  discussions  and  frequent  meetings 
for  conversation,  singing,  and  the  like. 

Yet  we  must  beware  of  under-estimating  the  effect  of"  customary  speech,  which 
also  is  a  conservative  force,  and  assuming  a  too  easy  fluidity  in  linguistic  forms. 
We  learn  from  Schweinfurth  that  the  Djurs  and  Bellandas,  though  far  apart,  have 
preserved  the  Shillook  language  almost  unaltered.  The  latter  are  divided  from 
the  Djurs  by  the  whole  breadth  of  the  Bongos,  and  these  again  are  separated  from 
the  Shillooks.  Consider  too  the  slight  differences  in  the  most  distant  Bantu 
dialects.  We  can  only  assume  some  great  error  of  observation  when  S.  F, 
Waldeck,  writing  to  Jomard  in  1833  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Palenque,  says 
that  he  could  no  longer  use  a  vocabulary  which  had  only  been  prepared  since 
1820.  We  have  good  cause  to  know  how  carelessly  vocabularies  often  are 
compiled.  Even  in  the  best  of  those  made  by  English  or  Americans  for  savage 
languages  a  large  number  of  words  are,  owing  to  arbitrary  transliteration,  quite 
useless  for  a  Frenchman  or  German  in  intercourse  with  "  natives." 

In  any  case,  however,  it  may  be  taken  as  a  rule  that  the  larger  a  race  is,  the 
more  intimate  its  intercourse,  the  more  firmly  articulated  its  society,  the  more 
uniform  its  usages  and  opinions  ;  so  much  more  stable  will  its  language  be. 
Public  speaking,  popular  songs,  national  laws,  oracles,  exercise  in  a  lesser  degree 
the  same  influence  as  writing.  They  set  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  natural 
tendency  of  language  to  flow  into  the  countless  streams  of  dialect,  and  give 
permanence  to  speech-formation  which,  without  these  external  influences,  would 
have  enjoyed  but  a  transitory  existence. 

These  facts  show  clearly  where  we  have  to  look  for  the  real  and  essential 
distinctions  in  the  degrees  of  linguistic  development.  Permanent  growth 
enhances  the  value  of  language  as  of  civilization.  The  language  which  has 
means  to  express  anything  without  becoming  obscure  through  redundancy,  which 
offers  the  most  complete,  most  intelligible,  and  shortest  methods  of  expressing 
ideas,  whether  abstract  or  concrete,  will  have  reached  the  highest  stage  of  develop- 
ment. And  hence  it  would  follow  that  a  thorough  parallelism  rules  between  the 
development  of  language  and  that  of  culture,  since  the  highest  culture  requires 
and  creates  the  most  copious  means  of  spoken  expression.  Without  prejudice  to 
the  varieties  in  the  structure  of  language,  the  possessors  of  the  highest  culture 
will  thus  speak  a  language  which  deserves  the  name  of  a  first-class  implement. 
But  by  this  term  we  do  not  understand  merely  that  which  best  fulfils  the  end  for 
which  it  is  designed,  since  the  Australian  languages  in  all  their  poverty  perfectly 
subserve  the  simple  wants  of  those  who  speak  them.  We  rather  look  upon 
languages  as  special  organisms  with  a  development  of  their  own.     Just  as  in  the 


LANGUAGE  35 


class  of  mechanical  tools,  we  should  give  the  plough  a  higher  rank  than  the  axe, 
although  the  latter  fulfils  simple  needs  just  as  well  as  the  former  meets  greater 
requirements  ;  so  must  we  hold  the  supple  yet  firmly -articulated,  clear  though 
copious  languages  of  the  Indo-Germanic  family  of  more  account  than  the  poorer 
idioms  of  the  Bantu. 

But  if  the  language  of  a  race  be  the  measure  of  the  stage  of  civilization  it  has 
reached,  we  must  be  cautious  in  drawing  conclusions  from  one  to  the  other ;  for 
language  is  only  one  among  modes  of  expression,  and  has  its  own  life.  Least  of 
all  should  the  mode  in  which  it  deals  with  particular  conceptions  be  taken  as 
such  a  measure.  Counting  and  reckoning  are  doubtless  very  important  'things, 
upon  the  perfection  of  which  a  great  deal  of  the  mental  development,  and 
consequently  the  culture,  of  a  race  depends.  But  in  view  of  the  alleged  inability 
of  many  savage  races  to  think  higher  numbers  than  3  or  5,  attention  must 
generally  be  drawn  to  the  fact  that  the  inefficiency  of  a  tool  does  not  always 
imply  a  corresponding  inability  in  the  hand  using  it.  In  reply  to  the  constant 
repetition  of  the  statement  that  as  the  languages  of  these  races  contain  jio  numerals 
above  3,  the  people  cannot  count  beyond  3,  Bleek  has  very  properly  pointed 
out  that  this  conclusion  is  as  much  justified  as  would  be  the  conclusion  that,  as 
the  French  say  dix-sept  and  quatre-vingts,  they  cannot  count  beyond  10  or  20. 
Greek  had  a  word  for  10,000;  Hindustanee  has  words  for  100,000  ijac),  and 
10,000,000  {crore);  we  have  none.  The  Nubians,  who  can  only  count  to  20 
in  their  own  language,  employ  Arabic  words  for  higher  numbers  ;  at  thq  same 
time  calling  100  by  their  own  word,  imil.  Just  the  same  holds  good  in  colour- 
names,  the  deficiency  of  which  among  many  savage  races  and  many  peoples  of 
antiquity  was  unhesitatingly  ascribed  to  a  corresponding  deficiency  of  perception. 
Here  they  started  from  the  unproved  assumption  that  expression  corresponds 
exactly  to  perception — in  this  instance  that  the  number  of  colour-terms  corre- 
sponded to  that  of  the  various  degrees  of  colour  which  pass  through  the  retina  to 
be  reproduced  in  consciousness.  Erroneous  as  is  this  supposition,  it  is  no  less 
instructive  for  the  recognition  of  .the  true  nature  of  language,  to  observe  that  many 
races,  otherwise  uncultivated,  can  show  an  unusually  copious  list  of  colour-terms. 
Both  copiousness  and  deficiency  alike  spring  from  immaturity.  We  just  as  often  find 
the  same  name  used  to  denote  different  colours,  as  the  most  different  names  applied 
to  the  same  colour.  This  is  merely  the  copiousness  of  confusion,  and  no  token  of 
hio-h  development.  After  testing  a  native  of  Queensland,  Alfred  Kirchhoff  wrote  : 
"  It  is  asserted  that  the  Hottentots  have  thirty-two  words  to  express  colours  ;  if 
so,  they  are  exceeded  more  than  two-fold  by  these  Australians  of  Queensland,  a 
list  of  whose  colour-names  yielded  as  many  as  seventy."  A  light  is  thrown  on  the 
way  in  which  this  excessive  wealth  of  terms  arises  by  the  fact  that  the  greatest 
cattle-breeders  among  the  African  Negroes,  the  Hereros,  Dinkas  and  their  kin,  who 
are  passionately  devoted  to  that  occupation,  possess  the  greatest  conceivable  choice 
of  words  for  all  colours — brown,  dun,  white,  dapple,  and  so  on.  The  Herero  has 
no  scruple  about  using  the  same  word  to  denote  the  colour  of  the  meadows  and 
of  the  sky  ;  but  he  would  regard  it  as  a  sign  of  gross  mental  incapacity  if  any  one 
were  to  comprise  in  one  word  the  various  gradations  of  brown  in  diff"erent  cows. 
So  among  the  Samoyedes  there  are  eleven  or  twelve  designations  for  the  various 
greys  and  browns  of  reindeer.  The  nautical  vocabulary  of  Malays  and  Polynesians 
shows  similar  development ;  but  not  far  off  we  find  great  barrenness,  the  result  of 


35 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


J] 


indolence.  Nor  is  it  only  "  natural  "  races  who  are  content  with  one  word  for 
different  colours  ;  the  same  want  of  fertility  in  the  formation  of  language  holds 
good  in  higher  stages.  The  peasant  of  central  Germany  frequently  includes  violet 
under  brown,  and  the  Japanese  as  a  rule  calls  blue  and  green  indifferently  ao. 

r\  Requirements    decide  what  the  wealth  of  language  shall   be. 

y^Xj  l^O^    For  the  most  civilised  among  modern  European  nations  the  rule 
\  I  seems  to  hold  that  a  man  of  average  education  actually  uses  only 

Lj  a  very  small  part  of  the  words  which  his  language  contains.      The 

English  language  claims  to  possess  100,000  words,  yet  an  English 
field-labourer  gets  along  as  a  rule  with  about  300.  Where  races 
of  a  higher  civilization  come  in  contact  with  a  lower,  the  language 
of  the  latter  easily  lapses  into  impoverishment,  since  it  takes  over 
a  number  of  words  from  the  former.  But  then  its  impoverishment 
allows  no  conclusion  as  to  the  degree  of  civilization,  but  can  only 
b2  looked  upon  as  a  historical  fact  in  the  life  of  that  language. 
A  good  example  is  the  freedom  with  which  Nubian  has  been  sup- 
plemented by  Arabic.  The  Nubians  have  their  own  special  words 
for  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ;  but  the  indications  of  time,  year,  month, 
day,  hour,  they  borrow  from  the  Arabs.  With  them  essi  serves 
for  water,  sea,  river  ;   but  the  Nile  is  called  Tosst.      For  all  native 

..^ animals,  domestic  or  wild,  they  have  names  of  their  own  ;   Arabic 

^  j  for  all  relating  to  building  and  navigation.  Spirit,  God,  slave,  the 
Vj  ideas  of  relationship,  the  parts  of  the  body,  weapons,  the  fruits  of 
the  earth,  and  everything  connected  with  breadmaking,  have  Nubian 
names  ;  on  the  other  hand  servant,  friend,  enemy,  temple,  to  pray, 
to  believe,  to  read,  are  Arabic.  All  metals  have  Arabic  names, 
except  iron.      "  They  are  rich  in  Berber,  poor  in  Arabic." 

How  much  the  very  mixture  of  tongues  does  to  enrich  a 
language,  and  above  all  to  adapt  it  to  its  purpose,  is  shown  among 
European  languages  by  English,  which  includes  just  about  as  many 
words  of  Teutonic  as  of  Romanic  origin.      Many  of  the  despised 

.       .     foreign   words   are    really  in- 

X 


r 
r 


n 


\y 


^   N^    Y 


X 


^  G   ^ 


dispensable.  We  need  only 
think  of  the  planting  and 
engrafting  that  has  had  to  be 
undertaken  in  the  garden  of 
every  African,  Polynesian, 
_,,.,..,  ,  ,  and  American  tongue  in  order 

Owner  s  marks  :  the  upright  column  from  the  Ainu  (after  Von  Siebold) ;  ,         .  -ui       r  i. 

the  others,  rudimentary  writing  from  the  Negroes  of  Lunda  (after    ^^    make    it     poSSlble    for    the 

M.  Buchner).  missionaries  to  interpret  the 

simplest  facts  of  Scripture  history  and  the  writings  which  form  the  foundation 
of  Christianity.  In  every  mission  the  rendering  of  "  God  "  especially  has  a  history 
rich  in  difficulties  and  errors. 

Glancing  at  the  heavy  burden  laid  upon  those  who  are  naturally  without  speech, 
we  will  only  call  to  mind  the  interesting  fact  that  in  Kazembe's  kingdom  Living- 
stone met  with  a  deaf  and  dumb  man,  who  used  just  the  same  signs  as  un- 
educated persons  of  his  kind  in  Europe.  It  is  obvious  that  the  language  of  signs 
and  grimaces  is  all  the  more  tempting  to  use  in  proportion  as  language  proper  is 


LANGUAGE  37 


defective  and  simple,  and  the  less  varied  and  abstract  the  ideas  to  which  it  can 
lend  expression.  By  frequent  use  this  kind  of  language  can  be  brought  to  a 
perfection  of  which  we,  who  always  have  thousands  of  words  at  command,  can 
form  no  conception.  Races  deficient  in  culture  can  put  far  more  into  the  simplest 
winks  and  gestures  than  we  are  in  the  habit  of  doing.  Livingstone  tells  us  that 
when  Africans  beckon  to  any  one  they  hold  the  palm  of  the  hand  downwards,  as 
though  to  combine  the  idea  of  laying  it  on  the  person  and  drawing  him  towards 
them.  If  the  person  wanted  is  close  by,  the  beckoner  reaches  out  his  right  hand 
in  a  line  with  the  breast,  and  makes  a  movement  as  if  he  wanted  to  catch  the 
other  by  closing  his  fingers  and  drawing  him  towards  himself;  if  the  other  is 
farther  off,  the  movement  is  emphasised  by  holding  the  hand  as  high  as  possible 
and  then  bringing  it  downwards  and  rubbing  it  on  the  ground.  But  gesture 
language  has  not  been  developed  to  a  real  system  of  signals  among  the  Africans, 
who  for  that  purpose  use  the  drum  language  (drum  signalling,  it  may  be  said, 
extends  from  the  Cameroons  through  Central  Africa  to  New  Guinea,  thence  to  the 
Jivaros  in  South  America).  Its  highest  cultivation  seems  to  be  reserved  for 
the  inventive,  and  at  the  same  time  taciturn,  Indians  of  North  America.  Mallery, 
in  his  great  work  on  the  sign  and  gesture  language  of  the  Indians,  has  given  a  list 
of  principal  signs,  by  combining  which  the  most  various  sentences  can  be  formed. 
Here  belong  also  fire  and  smoke  signals  ;  the  whistling  language  of  Gomera,  in 
which  shepherds  converse  over  great  distances,  make  appointments,  and  so  forth  ; 
and  the  like.  Lichtenstein  gives  a  pretty  instance  of  the  expression  of  numerical 
conceptions  by  means  of  signs.  He  relates  that  a  Hottentot,  who  was  disputing 
with  his  Dutch  master  about  the  length  of  time  that  he  had  yet  to  serve,  contrived 
to  explain  the  difference  of  their  respective  views  to  the  magistrate.      "  My  Baas," 

he  said,  "  will   have  it  I   have  got  so  long  to  serve "      Here  he  stretched  out 

his  left  arm  and   hand,  and  laid  the  little  finger  of  the  right  hand  on  the  middle 

of  his  forearm  ;  "  but   I   say  that  I  have  only  got  so  long "      And  therewith 

he  moved  his  finger  to  the  wrist.  American  Indians  often  carry  a  complete 
measure  with  various  subdivisions  tattooed  on  one  arm  ;  this  brings  us  to  the 
rudiments  of  writing. 

Among  all  races  of  the  earth  we  find  simple  methods  of  fixing  a  conception, 
which  present  themselves  either  in  picture-writing  or  in  sign -writing  as  allied 
inventions.  Yet  both  are  familiar  to  the  youth  of  all  races  in  later  times.  Our 
boys  use  a  form  of  picture-writing  when  they  draw  an  unpopular  schoolfellow  on 
the  door  of  his  house  with  a  donkey's  head.  But  adults  who  possess  no  higher 
form  of  writing  are  able,  by  means  of  pictures  placed  in  a  row,  to  express  a  good 
deal  more  than  isolated  notions.  As  soon  as  by  mutual  consent  a  conventional 
character  has  been  stamped  on  these  representations,  making  them  intelligible  to 
wide  circles,  they  attain  the  stage  of  picture-writing.  Signs  can  only  serve  a 
purpose  defined  by  mutual  agreement,  as,  for  instance,  marks  of  ownership  simply 
express  the  fact  that  the  article  upon  which  they  are  painted  or  cut  has  such  and 
such  a  definite  man  for  its  owner.  Many  signs  which  are  hardly  recognisable 
under  the  ornamental  character  which  they  often  assume,  and  which  brings  them 
nearer  to  art,  may  have  sprung  from  ownership  marks  of  this  kind,  or  be  directed 
to  make  a  notion  plainer,  as  when  the  road  is  indicated  by  a  foot  going  or  a  hand 
pointing  in  a  certain  direction.  But  then  they  have  already  reached  the  boundary 
at  which  their  arrangement  in  succession  brings  us  to  a  higher  stage  of  develop- 


38  THE   HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


ment.  The  "  Wabino  song  of  the  Ojibbeway  Indians,"  represented  on  our  coloured 
plate  entitled  "  Indian  picture-writing,"  gives  an  illustration  of  the  way  in  which 
not  only  one  idea  but  a  whole  series  of  statements  can  be  expressed  by  simple 
means  to  which  a  definite  sense  is  attached  ;  all  the  higher  kinds  of  writing 
have  sprung  from  picture-writing.  >  This  descent  is  recognisable  in  the  Mexican 
and  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  but  is  obliterated  in  the  Chinese ;  but  traces  may 
still  be  noticed  everywhere  ;  even  in  the  cuneiform  writing  we  may  find  echoes  of 
the  picture-writing  from  which  it  sprang.  In  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  an  ox 
or  a  star  indicate  the  things  themselves,  but  besides  this,  even  in  the  very  oldest 
inscriptions  going  back  to  B.C.  3000,  they  also  denote  certain  definite  sounds. 
In  the  Mexican  picture-writing  signs  of  things  and  signs  of  sounds  were  similarly 
blended.  A  monosyllabic  language  like  Chinese,  which  denotes  different  words  by 
means  of  one  and  the  same  syllable,  makes  use  of  signs  of  things  which  indeed  are  now 
hardly  recognisable  in  order  to  define  phonetic  signs  for  syllables.  The  Japanese, 
on  the  other  hand,  for  the  purposes  of  their  language,  which,  being  polysyllabic, 
is  more  adapted  to  phonetic  writing,  arranged  a  really  phonetic  script  out  of  the 
Chinese  letters.  In  a  more  decided  fashion  the  Phoenicians  did  the  same  when  they 
dropped  the  superfluous  signs  used  by  the  Egyptians  to  denote  things,  and  only 
adopted  such  hieroglyphs  as  were  most  necessary  for  writing  down  the  sounds. 
The  Phcenician  names  for  the  letters  made  their  way  into  Greece,  and  passed  into 
all  western  "  alphabets."  Thus,  from  obviously  manifold  beginnings  of  picture- 
writing,  grew  up,  in  one  spot  of  the  earth  only,  one  of  the  finest  implements  of 
human  thought — the  art  of  writing  by  means  of  letters  of  the  highest  pliancy, 
adapted  to  all  languages,  and  in  its  development  into  telegraphy  and  shorthand 
attaining  the  highest  possibilities  of  compressed  expression  of  thought.  Therewith 
mankind  achieved  an  extraordinarily  important  step  in  the  progress  of  its  develop- 
ment, for  in  fixing  and  securing  tradition,  writing  fixed  and  secured  civilization 
itself,  in  the  essence  of  which  we  have  found  the  connection  of  generations  based 
upon  tradition  to  be  the  living,  we  may  say  the  inspiring  nucleus. 


§  6.   RELIGION 

Difficulty  of  the  subject — Have  "natural"  races  religion? — Are  their  ideas  survivals  from  a  higher  sphere  of 
thought,  or  germs  to  be  developed  later  ? — Hawaiian  Hades-legend — .The  origin  of  all  religion  lies  in  the 
search  for  causes — Phenomena  which  stimulate  this  search  :  great  natural  phenomena — Superstitions  con- 
nected with  animals — Sickness,  dreams,  death,  have  an  even  more  powerful  effect  than  natural  phenomena 
— Ascription  of  souls  to  all  objects — Fetishes — Idols — Temples — Modes  of  burial — The  idea  of  a  future 
life — Morality  in  religion — Classification  and  propagation  of  religions — Missionary  activity. 

The  inquiry  into  the  religious  life  and  thought  of  natural  races  is  difficult. 
They  give  information  about  their  conception  of  the  Supreme  Being  only  with 
reluctance,  often  incompletely,  or  with  the  intention  of  deceiving.  Very  often  it 
may  really  not  be  easy  to  them  to  give  such  information,  for  the  reason  that  they 
have  no  clear  ideas  on  the  subject.  When  Merensky  asked  some  Christian  Basutos' 
what  they  had  thought  about  God  while  they  were  still  heathens,  they  said  :  "  We 
did  not  think  about  God  at  all,  we  only  dreamt."  Religious  ideas  as  clear  and 
simple  as  monotheism  are  not  found  among  savages.      Not  only  does  the  entire 


RELIGION 


39 


thought-life  of  these  people  move  in  pictures  of  dreamy  indefiniteness,  in  many 
cases  without  sequence  or  connection  ;  they  lack  the  secure  progress  and  develop- 
ment of  thought  from  one  generation  to  another  which  brings  about  the  organic 
growth  of  the  thought  of  a  former  age  into  that  of  the  present.  Such  religious 
ideas  as  do  exist  are  often  known  only  to  a  few  elders  who  guard  them  jealously. 
Even  where  this  does  not  occur,  the  dislike  to  giving  away  the  secrets  of  religion 
often  makes  it  possible  to  get  at  most  a  mutilated  fragment. 

We  must  therefore  be  on  our  guard  against  too  narrow  a  notion  of  the 
religious  surmises  and  imaginings  of  "  natural "  races.  In  one  respect  they  are 
always  comprehensive.  All  mental  stirrings  and  strivings  which  are  not  directed 
to  the  immediate  practical 
aims  of  life  find  in  them 
their  expression.  Reli- 
gion is  at  once  philosophy, 
science,  historic  tradition, 
poetry.  Cranz  says  of  the 
Greenland  angekoks''  They 
may  be  called  the  Green- 
landers'  physical  -  science 
teachers,  philosophers,  doc- 
tors, and  moralists,  as  well 
as  soothsayers  I"  In  reli- 
gion there  is  under  all 
circumstances  much  room 
for  conjecture  and  inquiry. 
But  we  must  not  start  with 
the  view  that  everything 
wTiich  exists  deep  down 
must  equally  show  itself 
on  the  surface.  The  most  unfair  judgments,  full  of  intrinsic  contradictions, 
arise  from  this  prejudice.  How  shallow  is  the  view  of  Klemm  that  among  the 
Arctic  races  every  one  believes  as  he  likes  !  "  No  common  religion  exists  1 " 
Klemm  has  quite  misunderstood  a  remark  of  Cranz.  One  who  knew  the 
Namaqua  Hottentots  well,  Tindall  the  missionary,  has  also  made  the  statement 
that  "  in  regard  to  religion  their  minds  seem  to  have  been  almost  a  tabula  rasa'.' 
This  has  no  doubt  been  understood  to  mean  that  they  had  scarcely  any  inkling 
of  religious  matters.  Certainly  in  the  soul  of  a  Namaqua  there  is  no  intelligible 
writing  to  be  read,  clearly  proclaiming  any  religious  message  ;  but  survivals  of  an 
intelligible  writing,  in  many  places  obliterated,  are  not  lacking.  And  so  indeed 
Tindall  presently  qualifies  his  own  statement  by  saying  that  the  fact  of  their 
language  containing  appellations  for  God,  spirits,  the  evil  one,  seems  to  indicate 
that  they  were  not  wholly  ignorant  of  these  matters  ;  even  though  nothing  further 
appears  in  the  terms  of  the  language  or  in  ceremonial  usages  and  superstitions  to 
give  evidence  of  anything  more  than  a  crude  conception  of  a  spiritual  world. 
He  believes  that  the  superstitious  tales  which  travellers  have  picked  up  from  them 
and  narrated  as  religious  reminiscences,  were  regarded  by  the  natives  themselves 
as  mere  fables,  related  only  with  a  view  to  entertain,  or  in  order  to  give  some 
insight  into  the  habits  and   peculiarities  of  wild  beasts.      This   expresses   far  too 


Melanesian  sea  deity,  from  San  Christoval.     (After  Codrington. ) 


40  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

narrow  an  apprehension  of  the  idea  of  religion  ;  if  these  usages  and  tales  are  not 
religion,  at  least  they  are  of  the  elements  from  which,  as  civilization  progresses  to 
development,  the  crystal  of  a  purified  belief  is  built  up.  When  we  find  ourselves 
in  the  course  of  our  description  in  presence  of  the  question  :  Is  religion  to  be  seen 
in  usages,  views,  legends  ?  we  shall  put  the  counter-question  :  Is  religion  to  be 
apprehended  only  as  a  cut-and-dried  conception,  or  is  not  the  truer  and  fairer  way 
of  looking  at  it  to  hold  that  the  elements  of  religion  are  to  be  recognised  in  every 
department  of  human  thought  and  feeling  which  can  rise  above  the  affairs  of  daily 
life,  and  above  this  corporeal  existence,  into  the  realm  of  unknown  causes  ? 
Rarely,  no  doubt,  among  "  natural "  races  shall  we  meet  with  religion  in  that 
narrow  sense  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  shall  not  analyse  a  single  race  on  its 
spiritual  side  without  laying  bare  the  germs  and  root-fibres  of  religious  feeling. 
Nay,  we  shall  arrive  at  recognising  that  the  spiritual  side  of  a  race  nowhere  finds 
more  copious  utterance  than  in  religious  matters.  Beside  the  material  destitu- 
tion of  the  Bushmen,  are  not  their  myths_  suggestive  of  a  treasure  ?  From 
scientific  conviction  we  must  unhesitatingly  endorse  the  verdict  which  was 
pronounced  by  the  religious  feeling  of  V.  von  Strauss  in  opposition  to  this  tendency 
to  degrade  :  "  Complete  absence  of  religion,  true  atheism,  may  be  the  result  of  an 
undermining,  soul-deadening  over-culture  ;  but  never  the  effect  of  crude  barbarism. 
This,  in  its  deepest  degradation,  always  retains  the  craving  for  religion,  with  a 
corresponding  faculty  for  religion,  however  faultily  and  confusedly  this  may 
operate." 

Ethnography  knows  no  race  devoid  of  religion,  but  only  differences  in  the 
degree  to  which  religious  ideas  are  developed.  Among  some,  these  lie  small  and 
inconspicuous  as  in  the  germ,  or  rather  as  in  the  chrysalis  ;  while  among  others 
they  have  expanded  in  a  splendid  wealth  of  myths  and  legends.  But  we  must 
not  always  want  to  see  primitive  conditions  in  their  imperfections.  Let  us 
remember  how  in  Abyssinian  Christianity,  Mongolian  Buddhism,  Soudanese 
Mahommedanism,  great  religious  thoughts  have  dwindled  away  beyond  recogni- 
tion. The  propagative  force  of  religious  ideas  is  as  great  as  the  certainty  that 
they  will  dwindle  where  they  are  cast  forth  into  the  wilderness  of  the  materialistic 
savage  life,  isolated  and  cut  adrift  from  any  organic  connection  with  a  great  living 
mythology,  or  a  system  of  teaching  imbued  with  spirituality.  Already  we  find 
debased  fragments  of  Christian  or  Mussulman  ideas  in  Indian  and  Polynesian, 
Malay  and  African  myths ;  and  if  we  had  no  inkling  as  to  the  history 
of  their  introduction,  they  would  appear  as  evidences  of  an  underlying  germ 
of  monotheism.  The  poetry  of  "  natural "  races  again  in  any  case  arouses  a 
suspicion  that  some  twig  from  the  tree  of  European  story  and  fable  has  there 
dropped  into  the  soil,  and  with  the  power  of  reproduction  which  is  peculiar  to 
these  creations  of  fancy,  has  straightway  thrown  up  scions  in  foreign  ground. 
In  a  notice  of  Callaway's  Nursery  Tales  of  the  Zulus  (1866),  Max  Miiller  has 
connected  with  this  the  deeper  thought  that  like  our  folk-lore  stories  and  so  forth, 
at  least  so  far  as  they  deal  with  ghosts,  fairies,  and  giants,  these  point  to  a  remote 
civilization,  or  at  least  to  a  long-protracted  process  of  growth.  "  Like  the  anomalies 
of  language,  they  show  by  their  peculiar  character  that  there  was  an  epoch  when 
what  is  now  devoid  of  rule  or  sense  formed  itself  with  a  definite  object  and 
according  to  laws."  We  venture  even  to  predict  that  in  the  religion  of  the  most 
remote  African  and  Australian  peoples,  just  as  in  the  rest  of  the  culture  possessed 


RELIGION  41 

by  them,  will  be  found  germs  or  survivals  of  Indian  or  Egyptian  tradition.  The 
Indian  elements  in  the  Malay  religion  belong  now  to  the  domain  of  proved  facts, 
and  perhaps  reach  as  far  as  Hawaii  and  beyond,  even  to  America. 

The  profundity  of  the  thought  must  not  be  measured  by  the  imperfection  of 
the  expression.  In  considering  a  mythology  like  the  Polynesian,  it  must  not  be 
overlooked  that  this  multiform  weft  of  legend  is  often  less  like  clear  speech  than  like 
the  prattle  of  a  child,  and  that  one  has  more  often  to  attend  to  the  What  ?  than 
to  the  How  ?  Often  a  similarity  of  sound,  an  echo,  suffices  the  sportive  fancy  of 
these  people  as  an  attachment  for  far-reaching  threads.  The  same  aspect  of  a 
supra-sensual  relation  looks  far  more  impressive  on  the  parchment  of  some 
manuscript  of  a  Greek  poet  than  in  the  oral  tradition  of  a  Polynesian  or  African 
priest  or  sorcerer.  But  if  we  try  to  extract  the  more  intelligible  sentences  in  the 
prattle  of  the  savage  we  get  a  picture  which  is  in  its  essence  not  far  inferior  to 
the  more  adorned  poetical  expression.  Let  us  compare  a  Hawaiian  legend  of 
the  under-world  with  its  parallels  in  Greek  mythology.  A  certain  chief, 
inconsolable  for  the  loss  of  his  wife,  obtained  from  his  priest,  in  answer  to  his 
prayers,  the  company  of  the  chieftain's  god  as  his  guide  into  the  kingdom  of 
Milu.  They  journeyed  to  the  end  of  the  world,  where  they  found  a  tree  which  was 
split ;  on  this  they  slid  down  to  the  lower  regions.  The  god  hid  himself  behind 
a  rock,  and  after  smearing  the  chief  with  an  ill-smelling  oil,  sent  him  forward  by 
himself.  On  reaching  Milu's  palace,  he  found  the  court  filled  with  a  crowd  of 
spirits  (Akua),  who  were  so  engrossed  in  their  game  that  he  was  able  to  join  them 
unobserved.  When  they  did  notice  him  they  took  him  for  a  newly-arrived  soul, 
and  jeered  at  him  for  a  stinking  ghost  who  had  stayed  too  long  by  his  putrefying 
body.  After  all  kinds  of  games  had  been  played,  they  had  to  think  of  another, 
and  the  chief  suggested  that  they  should  all  pluck  out  their  eyes  and  throw  them 
together  in  a  heap.  No  sooner  said  than  done  ;  but  the  chief  took  care  to 
observe  which  way  Milu's  eyes  went.  He  caught  them  in  the  air  and  hid  them 
in  his  coco-nut  cup.  As  they  were  now  all  blind,  he  succeeded  in  escaping  to  the 
kingdom  of  Wakea,  where  Milu's  hosts  might  not  set  foot.  After  long  negotia- 
tions with  the  chief,  now  under  the  protection  of  Wakea,  Milu  got  his  eyes  back, 
on  condition  of  releasing  the  soul  of  the  chief's  wife.  It  returned  to  earth  and  was 
reunited  to  its  body. 

Religion  is  everywhere  connected  with  man's  craving  for  causality,  which  will 
ever  be  looking  out  for  the  cause  or  the  causer  of  everything  that  comes  to  pass. 
Thus  its  ^deepest  roots  come  i_nto_CLontact_  wiih  science,  and  are  profoundly, 
entwined  with  the  sense  _of  Nature.  Agathias  tells  us  that  the  Alemanni 
venerated  trees  and  streams,  hills  and  dales  ;  and  we  may  boldly  assume  for  all 
mankind  the  universal  "  animation "  which  lay  at  the  base  of  this  veneration. 
This  craving  is  very  suitably  met  by  the  tendency  to  vivify  or  even  incarnate  all 
the  higher  phenomena  of  Nature,  by  attributing  to  them  a  soul  which  guides  in 
the  first  place  their  own  motions  and  changes,  but  afterwards  also  their  relation 
to  their  surroundings  nearer  or  more  distant.  The  Dyaks  ascribe  a  soul  to 
plants  no  less  than  to  men  :  if  the  rice  rots,  its  soul  is  clean  gone  ;  but  it  can, 
when  strewn  on  a  body,  follow  the  human  soul  to  the  other  world,  and  there 
again  be  incorporated  and  serve  it  for  food.  A  false  application  of  the  law  of 
cause  and  effect  leads  to  the  assumption  that  there  are  relations  between  this  soul 
and  the  human  soul,  which  at  last  weave  around   this   latter  a  close   network   of 


42 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


causation.  The  story  of  the  Kosa  chief  has  often  been  told.  He  died  shortly 
after  causing  a  piece  to  be  broken  off  an  anchor  which  was  cast  up  on  shore,  and 
from  that  time  forward  the  anchor  was  treated  with  reverence.  So  a  thousand 
threads  are  knotted  together,  and  none  of  them  is  forgotten  ;  and  in  this  net  of 
tradition  the  simple  child  of  nature  flutters  like  a  fly  in  the  spider's  web,  and  ever 
entangles  himself  more  with  every  attempt  to  find  the  right  clue.  The  soul  is 
literally  caught.  A  cord  with  several  open  nooses  fastened  to  it  is  hidden  in  the 
leaves.  If  the  man  for  whom  it  is  meant  catches  sight  of  it,  he  fancies  his  soul 
is  caught  in  it,  and  frets  himself  to  death.  There  you  have  a  method  of  sending 
a  person   out   of  the  world   which   in    the   Banks    Islands   has    been    tested  by 


Fetish  in  Lunda  ;  purpose  unknown,  perhaps  to  avert  lightning.     (After  Buchner. )     Cf.  p.  48, 


experience.  Hence  the  terror  of  phantoms  due  to  his  own  power  of  imagination, 
which  is  one  of  the  distinctive  traits  of  the  savage,  and  has  more  influence  than 
it  should  over  his  doings.  When  Melanesians  are  asked,  says  Codrington,  who 
they  are,  they  answer  "  Men,"  in  order  to  let  it  be  known  that  they  are  not  ghosts 
or  spectres.  Of  night  the  savage  is  more  afraid  than  a  badly  brought-up  child. 
Felkin,  writing  from  the  Upper  Nile,  says  that  at  night  the  natives  will  never 
march,  for  fear  of  wild  beasts  and  the  evil  influence  of  the  moon.  At  the  same  time, 
for  full  half  the  year  they  feel  far  from  comfortable  in  the  daytime,  and  try  at  least 
in  some  measure  to  secure  themselves  under  the  constant  feeling  of  being 
threatened  by  invisible  powers,  by  extending  the  idea  of  unlucky  days,  common 
to  all  mankind,  to  the  point  of  absurdity.  Monday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday  are 
good  days  for  travelling  in  these  parts  ;  Wednesday  is  neither  specially  good  nor 
bad  ;  but  Sunday,  Tuesday,  and  Friday  are  unlucky  days.  In  Java,  have  not  even 
the  thieves  their  silver  dial,  like  a  watch,  showing,  after  the  fashion  of  a  calendar, 


RELIGION 


43 


the  best  time  for  burglaries  or  robberies,  to  assist  them  in  their  choice  of  lucky- 
days  ?  White  men,  like  everything  new  and  unusual,  have  almost  inevitably  been 
mixed  up  with  these  superstitions.  Many  a  sad  episode  in  the  history  of  the  explora- 
tion of  the  dark  continent  is  explained  by  this  connection,  which  is  natural  enough 
in  the  negro's  spectre-teeming  brain.  Livingstone,  in  his  Missionary  Travels, 
forcibly  depicts  the  terror  which  he,  as  the  first  white  man,  inspired  in  the  negroes  ; 
he,  the  best  friend  they  ever  had  among  the  whites :  "  The  women  peer  from 
behind  the  walls  till  I  come  near,  and  then  hastily  dash  into  the  house.  When  a  little 
child,  unconscious  of  danger,  meets  me  in  the  street,  he  screams."     No  less  are  the 


Entrance  to  a  fetish  hut  in  Lunda.     (After  Buchner. )     Cf.  p,  45, 

things  owned  or  used  by  the  white  man  instantly  raised  into  the  sphere  of  the 
miraculous,  the  fetishic.  Paper  with  writing  on  it  especially  is  a  fetish  for  the 
West  Africans,  who  regard  it  as  sheer  witchcraft.  Buchholz  was  bandaging  a 
severe  wound  for  a  man  when  a  scrap  of  paper  fell  unnoticed  from  his  pocket. 
On  his  next  visit  to  his  patient  he  found  him  flitted,  because  the  house  was 
bewitched.  The  bit  of  paper  was  restored  him  with  the  utmost  solemnity.  On 
the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  a  Bakwiri  woman  he  was  urgently  entreated  in  a 
special  speech  by  an  envoy  from  the  negroes,  kindly  not  to  throw  bits  of  paper 
about  in  his  walks,  as  otherwise  they  would  have  to  avoid  those  roads  and  spots. 
When  Chapman  visited  Lechulatebe's  town  on  Lake  Ngami,  the  mortality  from 
fever  was  very  high.  The  chief  was  in  great  alarm  and  excitement  about  "  the 
death  that  was  roaming  all  around."  He  scarcely  showed  himself  outside  his  hut, 
made  his  wives  and  children  undergo  frequent  ablutions,  and  kept  his  doctors 
constantly  at  work  by  having  his  threshold  incessantly  sprinkled  with  decoctions 
of  herbs.  The  relations  of  those  who  had  died  were  subjected  to  tedious  processes 
of  purification  before  they  were  allowed  to  rejoin  the  community. 


44 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Thus  an  animating  breath  blows  not  through  Nature  only,  but  all  things  ; 
and  there  is  in  all  dealings,  even  in  the  decoration  of  men  and  the  ornament  of 
things,  much  more  spiritual  value  and  purpose  than  we  fancy.  Therefore  the  word 
polytheism  applies  to  all  religions  of  the  lower  grades.  A  tendency  to  multiply 
conceptions  shows  itself  throughout ;  in  the  course  of  time  the  process  of  god- 
making  has  become  pleasant  and  easy  to  the 
troubled  spirit  to  which  all  this  is  due.  Where 
the  mass  of  the  chiefs  were  looked  upon  with 
awe  as  demi  or  entire  gods  ;  where  souls  did  not 
only  survive,  but  remained  in  intimate  contact 
with  this  world  ;  where  every  family  possessed 
its  own  tutelary  spirit  in  the  shape  of  a  beast 
or  something  else,  gods  and  idols  must  have 
sprouted  and  flourished  and  entangled  the  whole 
mind  in  a  thicket  of  fantastic  fictions.  We  do 
not  wish  to  see  therein  only  the  base  creations 
of  terror.  In  the  act  of  animating  is  something 
beautifying,  such  as  on  their  higher  levels  poetry 
and  philosophy  strive  after. 

Where  lie  the  sources  whence  ghosts  and 
spectres  rise  incessantly  in  their  millions  ?  The 
most  striking  change  in  a  man  himself  or  his 
closest  associations  is  wrought  by  sickness,  sleep, 
and  death.  It  is  not  the  fear  of  Nature  which 
meets  us  as  the  first  basis  of  superstition,  but 
that  of  death  and  the  dead.  The  business  of 
Shamans,  medicine-men,  Koraji,  and  whatever 
else  these  wizards  are  called,  is  everywhere  in 
the  first  place  to  seek  out  the  causes  of  death 
and  sickness,  and  then  to  communicate  with  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  ;  who  are  regarded  by  their 
relatives  with  deep  aversion,  often  with  fear  and 
pain. 

Directly  from  this  springs  fetishism,  setting 
up  in  all  manner  of  complicated  ways  relations 
between  the  countless  tribe  of  souls  and  all  pos- 
sible articles  in  which  these  take  up  their  abode. 
Here  it  is  clearly  seen  that  no  straight  road  from 
objects  of  external  nature  to  the  soul  of  man  is 
offered  by  the  fundamental  lines  of  primitive  religious  systems — for  we  shall  seek 
in  vain  for  any  direct  relations  between  their  teaching  and  the  measure  of  extent 
and  activity  which  the  fetish-system  has  reached, — but  rather  that  the  fancy, 
timidly  searching  around  in  the  whimsical  way  in  which  the  emotions  of  alarm  are 
apt  to  express  themselves  ;  for  any  support  that  may  be  at  hand  attaches  itself  to 
objects  often  in  the  highest  degree  unworthy  of  its  confidence.  But  interrupted 
experiments,  so  to  say,  are  tried  with  regard  to  supernatural  agencies.  Not  only 
is  search  made  after  new  spirits,  as  when  curiously-shaped  stones  are  laid  by  a  tree 
to  try  if  they  will  improve  its  bearing ;  but  old  acquaintances  are  tested,  as  for 


e^^^=^-^^^^ 


Wooden  idol  from  the  Niger  (Museum 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society). 


RELIGION 


45 


instance,  by  giving  them  bad  or  putrid  meat.      Why  have  all  the  African  negroes 
such  a  predilection  for  horns,  hanging  them  in  quantities  on  the  persons  of  their 
magic-men,  while  the  high  priests,  who  are  the  kings,  keep  their  dreaded  medicines 
in  them  ?     Whence  comes  the  almost  comic  veneration  for  pots,  displayed  by 
Dyaks  and  Alfurs  ?      Anything  striking  finds  a  place  in  the  wilderness  of  curi- 
osities which  hang  about  the  neck  and  waist  of  a  Kaffir  magician  ;  indeed  it  was 
in  the  leather  pouch  hung  round  the  neck  of  such  a  person  that  the  first  great 
find   of   diamonds   at   the   Cape,   by   an   extraordinary   coincidence,   was    made. 
Stone-worship   is   widely    spread,  but  as  a  rule  is  connected  with   large  upright 
pieces  of  rock  ;  though  in  Africa  any  stone  may  become  a  fetish,  and  be  decorated 
with  rags  of  many  colours  wound 
round  its  neck.     Among  the  Mus- 
gus,  long  poles  serve  for  idols ;  the 
Azandeh  prefer   shapeless  blocks 
stuck    with    nails,    while    in    the 
Cameroons    pillars   of    basalt    are 
used.      It  would   be  hard   to  find 
an   African  who  has  not  a  fetish 
hung    on    him,    and    since    many 
wishes,   actions,  and   so  on,  have 
their  special  fetishes,  many  a  man 
is   heavily  laden  with  these  salu- 
tary objects.      There  are  amulets 
too,  which  taste  the  water  before 
you   drink,   and   give   warning    of 
anything  noxious  therein  ;  for  evil 
spirits  are  partial  to  this  flickering, 
foaming,  ever-changing  fluid.    An 
Eskimo's   weapon    bears    a    little 
tutelary  god  on  the  band.      This 
is    only    one    stage    from  the  so- 
called  idols,  figures  of  dead  persons,  which  are  cut  in  wood   or  cast  in  metal,  or 
moulded   in  the  huts    out    of    clay,    and    set    up    about    the    graves.      Both    are 
animated  ;    only  the  soul   of  the  ancestral  image  is   a  definite  one,  which  used 
to   possess  a  well-known   body,  and  now  has  passed  into  this  doll,  and   often   for 
years  to  come  takes  its  accustomed  place  ;  as  in  the  case  of  the   Shaman  of  the 
Goldi,  who  stands  in  his  old  place   in    the  yaourt  until    he   is   broken    up   with 
memorial   services.       With  the  making  of  such   visible    images    of  souls    comes 
also  the   founding   of  special    places    for  venerating   them,    in   the   form    of  the 
African   fetish  huts,  the  tabooed  places   of  Malays   and   Polynesians,  and   so  on 
up  to  the  temple.      As  these  are  frequently  contiguous  to   the  places  of  burial, 
the  abodes  of  the  souls  of  the  departed,  they  often  look  much  like  our  church- 
yards, which  are  laid   out  round  the  churches  without  any  consciousness  of  the 
close  connection  which  prevails  between  care  for  the  souls  of  the  dead  and  the 
worship  of  God.      The  only  difference  is  that  the  primitive  temple  more  often 
grew   out   of  the   churchyard  than   the   churchyard   was   appended    to    it.      The 
Shaman  of  northern  Asia  surrounds  himself  with  a  whole  series  of  wooden  idols, 
with  whom  he  converses  during  his  conjurations,  and  from  whom  he  gets  advice. 


A  mummy  wrapped  in  clothing,  from  Ancon. 
and  Stubel. ) 


(After  Reiss 


46 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Figures  of  animals,  especially  bears,  come  in,  and  his 
yaourt  is  a  very  home  of  souls.  It  must  remain  un- 
decided whether  we  have  a  higher  stage  in  the  fetish-huts 
where  there  are  no  images  or  other  embodiments.  In 
Africa  we  find  them  as  genuine  huts,  in  Oceania  as  little 
shrines. 

Funeral  ceremonies  are  a  department  of  religion 
among  all  races.  The  thought  underlying  them  all  is 
that  the  soul  does  not  leave  the  body  immediately,  or  at 
least  maintains  a  certain  alliance  with  it.  The  Poly- 
nesians state  clearly  that  the  soul  after  death  haunts  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  grave  for  a  while,  until  it  finally 
descends  to  the  realms  of  Milu  or  Wakea.  Among 
Malays  and  Indians  of  north-east  America  this  action  is 
equally  clear,  and  among  the  races  of  east  Asia  we  find 
a  glimmering  of  it.  For  this  reason  the  corpse  is  often 
left  for  some  time  unburied— a  whole  year  among  the 
Chiriquis.  The  widely -spread  custom  of  burying  gifts 
with  the  dead,  and  the  mummy-like  arrangement  of  the 
corpse ;  the  marking  of  the  grave,  which  among  the 
Bongos  assumes  the  character  of  a  monumental  edifice ; 
the  founding  and  maintaining  of  regular  mausoleums  in 
the  caise  of  chiefs  show  how  little  the  inanimate  body  is 
regarded  as  a  mere  thing.  Among  many  races  provision 
is    made   for    the    temporary  return  of   the    soul   to  its 


Idols  from  Hermit  Island. 
(Ethnological  Museum,  Berlin.) 


Supposed  idols  representing  souls,  from  Ubudjwa.     (After  Cameron.) 


RELIGION  47 

decayed  tabernacle,  and  to  this  end  an  opening  is  left  in  the  vault,  and  from  time 
to  time  meat  and  drink  are  put  by  the  corpse  or  poured  into  the  grave.  The 
soul  in  its  wanderings  may  travel  to  any  other  persons,  bewitch  them,  ruin  them, 
or  raise  them  to  unexpected  honour.  In  Uganda  every  sorcerer  is  tenanted  by 
the  soul  of  a  king  ;  but  the  ordinary  soul,  Musimu,  can  enter  into  any  one.  That 
the  soul  does  not  rest  when  it  has  reached  the  grave  is  indicated  by  the  boat 
which  is  set  up  on  the  mound.  In  the  North  the  sledge  on  which  the  corpse 
was  drawn  to  its  last  home  is  used  in  the  same  way.  From  this  boat  is  derived 
the  shape  of  the  stone  slab  used  by  North  Germans.  The  forcible  recall  of  the 
soul  into  the  corpse  by  means  of  witchcraft  was  regarded  as  no  less  possible  than 
its  extraction  by  the  same  means  from  the  living  body,  and  transference  to  that 
of  some  beast ;  this  last  is  a  speciality  much  in  favour  with  African  magicians. 
But  with  the  assumption  of  universal  animation,  the  fancy  need  see  no  bar  to 
any  transmigrations  on  the  part  of  the  soul,  though  beasts  naturally  occur  first. 

With  the  grounds  for  reverent  treatment  of  the  corpse  fear  is  associated  as  a 
powerful  motive.  The  rapid  swathing,  the  carrying  on  a  pole,  the  avoidance  of 
the  door,  the  hasty  interment  at  a  distance  from  the  hut,  are  all  operations  if  not 
prompted  by  fear,  at  any  rate  imbued  with  it.  Curiously  enough  in  this  respect 
the  strongest  contradictions  occur  ;  for  while  the  Kaffirs  often  simply  drag  their 
dead  into  the  forest  and  leave  them  to  the  hyaenas,  they  bury  others  in  stone 
graves,  or  on  their  own  premises.  In  the  Cameroons  a  man  is  buried  in  his  hut, 
a  woman  by  the  roadside.  If  the  hut  of  the  deceased  is  deserted  or  destroyed 
his  household  furniture  is  broken  up,  his  slaves  and  flocks  often  put  to  death,  and 
his  very  name  devoted  to  oblivion,  so  effective  is  the  dread  of  spectres. 

The  brief  and  fragmentary  thought  of  savage  races  allows  of  a  profound 
belief,  expressing  itself  in  as  many  forms  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  animation  of 
the  human  body,  without  a  perception  in  all  cases  of  the  consequent  necessity  of 
accounting  for  the  place  in  which  the  souls  abide.  Still  that  belief  doubtless 
renders  their  acceptance  of  the  idea  of  a  future  state  more  i-eady  ;  and  if  this 
shows  a  remarkable  similarity  among  ancient  Europeans,  Polynesians,  and 
American  Indians,  we  may  look  upon  this  as  a  fact  of  geographical  distribution, 
remarkable  rather  in  its  relation  to  the  geography  of  mankind  than  to  the 
psychology  of  races.  The  myth  already  given  of  the  soul-snatching  Hawaiian 
chief  shows  clearly  how  far  the  resemblances  go.  In  the  fundamental  features  of 
a  descent,  a  trick  practised  on  the  lord  of  the  nether  world,  the  jealousy  of  the 
remaining  souls,  we  find  agreement  among  many  races.  Conceptions  which,  as 
immediately  reflected  images  of  the  reality,  involve  a  certain  element  of  necessity, 
stand  in  a  different  relation  to  each  other  from  ideas  which  are  attached  to  them 
only  in  the  second  or  some  more  distant  degree.  These  latter  must  always  be 
tested  with  especial  thoroughness  in  respect  of  their  origin  in  higher  and  more 
remote  spheres  of  thought. 

What  is  called  an  idol  is  originally  nothing  but  a  memorial  of  a  deceased 
person — an  ancestral  statue.  It  is  more  rare  to  find  the  soul  embodied  in  a 
symbol,  as  when,  at  a  memorial  service  for  the  dead  among  the  Goldi,  a  wooden  bird 
bearing  the  soul  away  is  swung  over  the  head  of  the  Shaman.  Usually  the  man 
is  given  as  he  was,  often  highly  conventionalised.  The  connection  between  these 
images  and  what  is  commonly  called  idolatry,  naturally  depending  on  the  affection 
bestowed  upon  the  dead,  is  never  more  than  a  part  of  religion.     This  explains 


48 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


the  otherwise  inexplicable  variety  which  in  this  matter  prevails  among  close- 
allied  tribes,  as  for  instance  in  New  Guinea,  where  the  Nufurese  have  a  long  list 
of  idols  ikaroivar),  while  there  are  none  whatever  among  the  Arfaks.  Now  we 
can  understand  also  the  intimate  connection  between  skull  and  idol  worship,  for 
the  skull  is  a»  memorial  of  the  dead.  The  farther  the  idea  of  memory  retreats, 
the  more  impersonal  is  the  image.  In  Tahiti,  where  the  personal  family  idols,  or 
tii,  are  distinguished  from  the  national  idols,  tu,  it  is  chiefly  the  latter  who  are 
rendered  invisible  by  wrappings.  The  theft  of  them  often  gives  rise  to  wars 
between  tribes. 

Besides  death  we  find  life,  with  generation  and  birth  as  its  more  enigmatic 
and  significant  processes,  woven  into  relations  with  the  supernatural.  The  moment 
of  generation   is    by  predilection    represented   in   carvings   and   images,  and  very 

commonly  that  of  birth  also.  In  the  case 
of  this  the  presentation  of  the  feet  signifies 
a  special  relation  to  the  myths.  There  lies 
an  affirmation  in  the  new  life  which  is 
opposed  to  the  power  of  destruction.  The 
phallus  as  a  symbol  of  protection  against 
evil  powers  is  in  use  among  the  most 
various  races ;  and  therefore  we  do  not 
think  it  necessary,  with  Schmeltz,  to  bring 
the  appearance  of  phallic  emblems  among 
the  Maoris  into  relation  with  the  obscure 
question  of  the  composition  of  the  race,  on 
the  ground  of  the  special  prominence  of 
the  same  among  the  Melanesians.  Any- 
how it  is  the  case  that  among  most  dif- 
ferent races,  birth,  the  attainment  of 
maturity  (this  very  particularly),  and  mar- 
riage, are  surrounded  by  ceremonies  intended  to  render  in  a  perceptible  form  the 
importance  of  these  events.  To  the  notion  of  a  future  life  there  has  now  accrued, 
in  a  higher  stage  of  development,  a  more  advanced  and  higher  element  in  the 
shape  of  a  doctrine  of  future  rewards  and  punishments.  Of  this,  however,  many 
races  show  no  trace.  The  "  natural  "  races,  no  doubt,  imagine  divisions '  in  the 
future  life,  but  these  are  social,  not  moral.  Thus  the  Polynesians  distinguish  the 
realms  of  Milu  and  Wakea.  The  former  is  the  rowdy  place  where  lower-class 
souls  dwell,  and  amuse  themselves  with  games  and  shouting  ;  in  the  latter,  on 
the  contrary,  quiet  and  dignity  prevail,  suited  to  the  chiefs  of  whose  souls  it  is 
the  abode.  Walhalla  is  only  for  brave  warriors  who  have  fallen  in  fight ;  and  so, 
too,  the  Indian  warrior  has  his  select  heaven.  It  is  essential  to  point  out  that 
ethics  do  not  necessarily  form  a  primitive  ingredient  of  religion,  but  are  an 
admixture  occurring  first  in  the  higher  stages. 

Two  classes  of  natural  phenomena  exercise  the  most  profound  effect  upon  the 
innate  sense  of  insecurity  ;  and  man  must  find  out  how  he  stands  with  regard  to 
them.  In  presence  of  the  mighty  activity  of  natural  forces  he  compares  himself 
with  the  power  and  majesty  of  nature  and  acquires  the  consciousness  of  his  own 
inferiority.  On  all  sides  innumerable  obstacles  offer  barriers  and  hinder  his  will. 
His  spirit  trembles  before  the  infinite  and  unfathomable,  and  hardly  troubles  itself 


Grave  of  a  Zulu  chief.     (After  G.  Fritsch. ' 


RELIGION  49 


further  about  the  particulars  of  which  that  exahed  grandeur  consists.  Legends  are 
sure  to  be  woven  about  a  mountain  in  the  plain  ;  the  dark  forest  harbours  ghosts  ; 
storms,  earthquake,  volcanic  eruptions,  impress  by  the  unexpected  and  stunning 
manner  of  their  outbreak.  The  fantastic  idols  with  which  forest  and  field  in  the 
Negroes'  part  of  Africa  swarm  are  in,  fact  frequently  memorials  of  lightning-strokes 
and  the  like.  The  deepest  impression  is  left  by  the  phenomena  of  the  starry 
heavens,  by  reason  of  the  majestic  calm  and  regularity  of  their  motions.  The 
existence  of  these  strange  appearances  so  remote  from  earthly  things,  their 
brightness,  their  great  number,  naturally  exercised  an  influence  on  the  mind  even 
of  primitive  men.  All,  even  Bushmen  and  Australians,  have  names  for  the 
constellations.  The  warming  power  of  the  sun  must  have  been  felt  with  gratitude, 
more  perhaps  in  cooler  regions  than  in  the  tropics.  Moon  and  stars,  lighting  the 
darkness,  are  doubly  welcome  to  savage  races  with  their  fear  of  ghosts.  The 
trouble  they  took  to  exorcise  the  obscuring  spirit  in  eclipses  of  the  moon,  the 
high  place  allotted  to  the  moon  in  the  religious  ideas  and  legends  of  all  races, 
are  evidence  of  this.  It  is  too  much  to  say  that  the  sun  as  giver  of  light  has 
been  revered  by  all  nations  as  a  divine  being  and  the  universal  benefactor. 
But  sun-worship  is  widely  spread,  especially  among  agriculturists,  and  where  ideas 
are  more  developed.  Even  on  the  magic  drum  of  the  Lapland  Shaman  a 
radiant  sun  is  represented.  Legends  connected  with  the  various  positions  of  the 
sun  in  respect  of  the  earth,  and  with  the  changes  of  the  seasons,  are  widespread. 
In  common  with  mother-earth  the  fertilising  sun  creates  all  living  things,  and  the 
stars  also.  The  souls  of  departed  heroes  make  their  way  to  the  setting  sun. 
With  the  sun  is  connected  the  worship  of  the  fire  which  must  not  be  put  out  and 
is  kindled  under  the  bond  of  an  oath.  The  Japanese  solemnly  brings  into  his 
house  at  the  new  year  fire  which  has  been  lighted  in  the  temple  by  rubbing  wood 
on  an  appointed  day.  Even  the  Russian  in  the  district  of  Tamboff  carries  all 
the  ashes  he  can  and  some  stones  from  his  old  hearth  into  a  new  house,  to  bring 
luck  ;  a  survival  of  the  transference  of  the  fire  itself. 

Weather  phenomena  impress  by  their  immediate  effects,  and  the  degree  to 
which  they  enter  into  economic  prosperity.  The  part  which  they  play  in  the 
beliefs  or  superstitions  of  mankind  is  thus  easily  comprehensible,  and  shows  itself 
in  the  frequent  occurrence  of  rain-  or  sunshine-makers,  the  purveyors  of  fertility. 
Somewhat  beyond  lies  the  domain  of  those  phenomena  which  never  or  seldom 
come  into  immediate  relation  with  man,  and  therefore  are  noticed  by  him  only 
when  they  force  themselves  on  his  attention.  Even  the  savage,  the  most  prejudiced 
creature  in  human  shape,  the  man  with  the  least  field  of  vision,  receives  an 
impression  from  the  rainbow  "  the  bridge  to  the  sky,"  from  the  roar  of  the  sea, 
from  the  rustle  of  the  woods,  the  bubbling  of  the  spring.  These  phenomena  are, 
drawn  into  the  range  of  superstitious  conceptions,  which  in  their  turn  are  called 
forth  by  nearer  causes.  Are  they  images  of  souls,  which  the  Ainu  place  on 
promontories  where  an  awkward  current  prevails  in  order  to  pray  for  a  good 
passage  or  a  lucky  haul  ?  Savages  know  how  meteoric  stones  fall,  and  have 
retained  experiences  of  them  in  their  traditions  ;  the  stone-hatchets  found  in  the 
soil  they  call  thunderbolts.  The  boat  with  the  corpse  is  launched  on  the  waves  ; 
the  dark  forest  is  overlaid  with  taboo ;  in  every  brook  a  spirit  is  imagined. 
Poetry  here  entwines  its  roots  with  religion  ;  it  appears  a  highly  superfluous 
•question  to  ask  if  these  races  have  a  sense  of  Nature. 

E 


5° 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


But  social  observances  are  also  mixed  up  in  this.  We  know  the  part  played 
by  beasts  as  symbols  of  the  social  groups,  as  totems  that  is.  The  Shaman  goes 
about  with  beasts  as  with  his  fellows,  puts  on  a  pair  of  artificial  stag-horns,  drinks 
the  blood  of  dogs  out  of  the  hollow  figure  of  an  animal,  has  a  hollow  wooden  bird 
swung  over  him,  sacrifices  to  the  river  god  out  of  fish-shaped  shells.  The  Giljaks 
employ  bears,  hedgehogs,  and  tortoises  for  magic  purposes,  especially  in  sickness. 
Every  year  they  have  a  solemn  feast  of  fat  bear  out  of  their  own  wooden  dishes. 
Legends  about  beasts  and  plants  form  a  chief,  not  to   say  typical,  part   of  the 

literature  of  primitive 
races.  Beasts  ever  find 
a  place  at  the  base  of 
the  genealogies  of  tribes 
and  chiefs.  Wherever 
the  world  of  Indian 
thought  has  spread, 
the  belief  in  the  trans- 
migration of  souls  ex- 
tends, especially  in 
their  transition  from 
apes  ;  even  Japan  once 
had  its  sacred  apes. 
Besides  this,  beasts 
impressed  themselves 
irresistibly  by  means 
of  the  good  and  harm 
they  did.  Man-eating 
savages  felt  themselves 
akin  to  the  man-eating 
beasts.  The  custom 
of  sparing  these  animals 
— indeed  among  the  Malays  and  the  Joloffs  of  Senegambia,  crocodiles  were  kept  in 
sacred  ponds — may  perhaps  have  another  interpretation,  as  when  Lobengula,  king 
of  the  Matabele,  made  it  a  capital  offence  to  kill  a  crocodile  because  mischievous 
magic  could  be  practised  with  a  dead  crocodile.  Even  so,  however,  the  beast 
religion  may  be  assuming  an  indirect  form. 

The  inquiry  about  the  One,  the  Lord  of  heaven,  the  All  Creator— God  in  short, 
is  not  one  of  the  first  results  that  emerges  from  the  mass  of  religious  ideas.  It  is 
only  incidentally  that  a  glimpse  at  Him  opens,  and  that  only  through  chinks  in  the 
thicket  of  idols.  The  conception  of  His  existence  which  we  gain  is  all  the  less 
clear  from  the  fact  that  the  streams  in  which  He  is  mirrored  flow  from  different 
sources.  Undoubtedly  ancestor-worship  leads  to  a  gradual  exalting  of  prominent 
figures  above  the  common  herd,  and  even  to  heaven.  We  can  point  to  such 
apotheoses  in  Africa,  as  well  as  in  Oceania  ;  among  the  Incas  they  even  began 
while  the  subjects  of  them  were  living.  By  the  transference  to  heaven,  the  con- 
dition of  far-reaching  dominating  influence  is  fulfilled.  The  millions  of  departed 
souls  must  have  chiefs  to  lead  them,  and  for  this  purpose  those  who  were  chiefs 
below  are  also  the  best  adapted  in  the  next  world.  Further,  if  it  pertains  to  the 
essence  of  a  god  to  accomplish  the  most  various  results  from  one  point,  without 


Fish-headed  idols  from  Easter  Island.      (Christy  Collection. ; 


RELIGION  51 

being  tied  to  thing  and  place  of  action,  he  must  be  raised  on  high.  The  weak- 
ness of  remembrance  accounts  for  his  appearing  to  forget  his  roots  in  earthly  affairs 
and  to  soar  above.  Thus  the  mass  of  souls  become  spirits  ;  in  their  images  they 
become  fetishes  ;  a  few  become  tribal  gods,  and  from  these  perhaps,  by  dissemination, 
may  proceed  gods  recognised  to  a  distance.  Jehovah  is  received  as  the  God  of  the 
world.  Creation  requires  at  least  a  first  man,  and  beyond  him  a  God  capable  of 
creating  him.  Usually  the  sky  or  the  sun  is  called  to  this  dignity ;  there  live  the  sacred 
primeval  ancestors  who  now  coalesce  with  the  creating  God.  Lastly,  consideration 
of  Nature  demands  great  ruling  spirits  for  the  great  things,  and  innumerable  small 
ones  for  the  small  things.  One  Spirit  in  heaven,  who  is  at  the  same  time  Creator, 
will  of  course  be  the  First.  Thus  from  different  points  there  is  a  striving  after 
one  high  Being,  one  God  ;  everywhere  we  hear  the  name  of  a  highest  spoken,  but 
only  faintly  and  indistinctly.  Frequently  he  is  literally  to  be  regarded  as  the 
eldest,  the  spiritual  Lord  of  the  tribe,  the  Sovereign  over  the  souls  of  the  departed, 
the  Creator.  It  is  dangerous  for  our  missionaries  to  assign  his  name  to  their  and 
our  God,  or  the  adherent  of  ancestor  worship  will  be  led  of  himself  to  put  a  mytho- 
logic  form  upon  a  first  man,  the  ancestral  lord  of  the  whole  race.  Unkulunkulu 
is  the  original  ancestor  ;  he  is  himself  the  creator  of  men,  a  mysterious  figure,  but 
mysterious  simply  because  the  Kaffir  has  abstained  from  figuring  him  precisely 
either  in  fact  or  fancy.  Thus  Unkulunkulu  resembles  the  supreme  heaven-god  of 
most  negro  religions  ;  a  being  unaffected  by  earthly  doings,  and  therefore  dis- 
regarded ;  and  corresponds  to  Molimo  among  the  Bechuanas  and  Basutos,  and 
Nyambi  or  Nyame  elsewhere.  The  origin  of  all  may  be  the  same  ;  but  here  it  is 
important  to  notice,  whether  memory  has  grown  so  faint  that  the  image  of  the  first 
parent  has  been  spiritualised,  or  this  image  is  still  so  recent  that  our  conception  of 
God  is  degraded  by  the  use  of  His  name.  The  missionaries  to  the  Hereros 
took  Mukuru  and  Kalunga  (for  which  they  had  at  first  put  "  fortune ")  as  the 
expression  for  "  God  "  ;  Nyambi  was  not  adopted  till  later.  In  pre-Christian  days 
the  Hereros  actually  lived  in  a  state  of  pure  ancestor-worship.  On  the  Gold  Coast, 
and  in  parts  of  East  Africa,  we  shall  see  that  more  pronounced  developments  in 
the  direction  of  monotheism  appear  ;  and  with^  these  Christianity  need  have  less 
scruple  in  linking  itself.  In  some  cases,  the  name  of  evil  spirits  (where  they  appear 
as  destroyers  and  renewers  of  creation),  has  been  adopted  to  render  "  God."  In 
the  New  Hebrides,  Suque,  the  name  of  a  secret  society,  has  been  used  for  this 
purpose ;  and  in  the  Torres  Islands,  Augud,  which  means  "  totem.''  The 
familiar  Manitu  of  the  Indians  of  North  America  is  not  "  the  Great  Spirit,"  but 
"spirit"  generally,  even  a  bad  one.  The  Polynesian  Atua,  which  the  missionaries 
took  for  "  God,"  may  have  originated  in  some  similar  idea  ;  but  it  is  so  universal 
in  the  sense  of  ghost,  soul,  or  breath,  that  too  close  a  contact  is  prevented  with 
notions  which  the  heathen  would  seize  upon.  The  fact,  referable  to  ancestor- 
worship,  that  within  one  race  different  spirits  are  assigned  to  different  groups,  which 
conduct  their  worship  in  secret  societies,  and  often  use  this  secrecy  for  purposes 
of  outrage,  naturally  hinders  the  growth  of  the  monotheistic  idea,  so  long  as  no 
one  of  them  is  in  the  majority.  Regulations  of  rank  in  veneration  is  no  sure  guide, 
for  the  name  of  the  god  venerated  as  supreme  changes  from  one  country  to  another. 
In  the  small  area  of  the  Society  Islands,  we  find  the  following  gods  holding  the 
supreme  place  : — Rua  in  Tahiti,  Eimeo  in  Raiatea,  Tane  in  Huaheine,  Tao  in 
Bolabola,  Tu  in  Maurua,  Tangaroa  or  Taaroa  in  Tabueamanu,  Oro  in  Tahaa.      In 


52  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

New  Zealand,  Rangi  (Heaven),  takes  the  highest  place  at  the  head  of  all  other 
gods.  In  Hawaii,  Tane  comes  to  the  front,  as  Kane  ;  with  him  Wakea  and  Maui, 
who  are  only  of  importance  in  mythology,  and  the  war-god.  But  as  we  shall  see, 
all  these  supreme  beings  can  lose  nearly  all  their  worship  in  favour  of  simply  local 
ancestral  deities.  Nothing  has  contributed  to  this  so  much  as  the  formation  of 
sectarian  groups,  who  struggled  to  keep  their  own  god  or  spirit  strictly  to  them- 
selves. As  they  grew  powerful,  they  imposed  their  own  divine  service  on  weaker 
brethren.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  told  in  regard  to  the  Shillooks,  that  the  Niekam 
owned  in  every  village  a  temple  or  a  house,  often  the  whole  village,  which  was 
inhabited  by  a  privileged  and  much -respected  caste — a  kind  of  lords  spiritual. 
These  claimed  a  share  of  all  the  booty  taken  ;  no  man  ventured  to  touch  their 
cows,  even  to  milk  them.  The  chief's  wealth  was  kept  concealed  in  the  Niekam's 
territory.  In  Abbeokuta,  bundles  of  straw  indicated  the  property  of  the  thunder- 
god  Shango  ;  this  is  inviolable,  and  whosoever  lays  his  hand  upon  it,  incurs  the 
vengeance  of  Shango's  priests.  Indeed  Shango  is  an  instructive  phenomenon. 
Some  hold  him  for  a  king  who  in  his  life  was  very  cruel.  Others  say  he  was  a 
late-born  scion  of  deity,  only  recently  admitted  to  immortality  ;  sometimes  he  is 
the  thunder-god's  ancestor,  sometimes  his  companion,  and  then  thunderer  himself 
All  points  to  the  soul  of  a  chief  lately  raised  to  Olympus. 

The  shiftings  and  exchangings  of  names,  especially  among  non-writing  races, 
owing  to  the  recurrence  of  the  same  deities  and  divine  functions,  form  a  constant 
source  of  confusion  even  in  the  fundamental  threads  of  mythology.  It  is  therefore 
only  possible  to  disentangle  them  by  keeping  fast  hold  of  the  underlying  reality, 
setting  aside  all  questions  of  hierarchy.  To  see  in  some  isolated  fact,  like  the 
survival  of  the  first  parent  of  the  human  race,  a  special  and  higher  characteristic 
feature  of  the  American  form  of  the  deluge-myth,  is  only  to  fail  to  recognise  the 
multiform  varying  nature  of  the  myth  generally.  An  effort  after  selection  and 
elevation  lies  deep  down  in  the  human  mind.  Nothing  but  rapid  extension  over 
wide  areas,  and  the  keeping  of  all  decomposing  influences  at  a  distance,  is  needed 
to  raise  one  idea  of  the  deity  above  local  limitations  and  waverings,  as  we  see  in 
the  diffusion  of  Christianity  and,  Islam.  But  the  acquisition  of  power,  that  is, 
alliance  with  the  secular  arm,  is  also  necessary. 

The  notion  of  man's  position  towards  a  personal  Supreme  Being,  the  highest 
disposer  of  things,  to  whom  man  stands  in  personal  relations,  has  nowhere  grown 
up  in  a  pure  form,  but  always  only  in  fragments,  inadequately,  and  in  a  shape 
full  of  misconceptions.  Nor  has  religion,  in  the  course  of  its  development,  remained 
alone,  but  has  passed  into  more  and  more  intimate  alliance  with  other  efforts  of 
the  human  mind,  above  all  with  the  stirrings  and  cravings  of  his  conscience.  Thus 
it  received  its  most  important  adjunct,  the  moral  element,  and  thereby  acquired  a 
higher  influence  upon  general  civilization.  While  in  the  cruder  stages  of  religious 
development,  man  appears  almost  entirely  as  the  demanding  party  who  approaches 
spirits,  fetishes,  and  so  on,  with  his  wishes  or  even  orders,  the  execution  of  which 
is  paid  for  in  sacrifices  ;  the  spiritual  side  now  comes  to  power,  and,  equipped  with 
£eward  and  penalty,  rules  him,  not  by  guidance  only,  but  also  by  constraint.  This 
|harper  differentiation  of  the  moral  element  in  religion,  which  may  be  followed 
■rough  many  stages,  is  accompanied  by  the  clearance  from  it  of  a  mass  of  elements 
Khich  without  any  deeper  inward  affinity  are  apt  to  be  bound  up  with  it ;  as,  for 
Sample,  in  the  lower  stages,  not  only  the  service  of  the  superhuman  spirit,' but 


RELIGION  53 

also  the  care  of  the  spirit  in  man,  as  in  all  beginnings  of  science,  art,  and  poetry, 
matters  connected  with  the  sorcerer,  the  priest,  and  the  like.  Thus  we  have  a  point 
which  we  might  compare  to  that  where  a  number  of  vague  winding  tracks  meet 
to  form  a  few  clear  and  straight  roads.  The  alliance  of  religion  with  the  civil  law, 
which,  though  involving  many  humiliations,  has  in  the  end  an  elevating  effect,  frees 
it  at  the  same  time  in  an  increasing  degree  from  the  alliance  with  all  the  activities 
of  the  mind  which  are  to  develop  independently  with  art  and  science.  The  separa- 
tion takes  the  line  of  a  distribution  among  a  number  of  persons  of  the  priestly 
functions,  as  magicians,  healers,  rain-makers,  image-carvers,  court- minstrels,  and  so 
forth  ;  but  only  arrives  at  completion  on  the  threshold  of  the  age  of  art  and  science. 
History  first  shows  us  poetry,  the  arts,  and  the  sciences  in  independent  activity 
when  we  come  to  ancient  Greece  ;  in  Egypt  they  were  all  attached  to  the  priestly 
caste. 

The  alliance  of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  powers  is  to  be  found  in  all  stages 
of  mankind  at  the  present  day.  The  power  of  a  chief  is  incomplete  without  that 
of  witchcraft,  exercised  by  himself  or  in  the  closest  union  with  the  priests  ;  only 
fighting  chiefs  may  form  exceptions.  Even  here  the  bard  has  to  go  with  the 
prince.  A  failure  in  rain-making  may  totally  destroy  all  respect  for  a  prince  ; 
and  Africa  affords  many  instances  of  dethronement  and  murder  owing  to  ill-success 
in  witchcraft.  On  the  other  side,  one  can  hardly  conceive  a  more  powerful  support 
for  the  tradition  of  a  sovereign  house  than  ancestor-worship,  such  as  made  a  saint 
of  each  of  the  Cuzco  Incas.  Oceania  shows,  by  a  multitude  of  examples,  that 
princes  or  warrior-heroes  stepped  into  the  first  rank  of  the  gods.  The  succession 
of  power  was  thereby  materially  fortified.  In  this  connection  we  recall  a  remark 
of  M^rim^e's  to  the  effect  that  the  preference  shown  by  the  Romans  for  the  Etruscan 
above  other  Italian  races,  may  have  been  partly  due  to  the  knowledge  of  the  oldest 
religious  traditions  and  the  interpretation  of  omens  which  distinguished  the  Etruscan 
aristocracy.  What  is  good  for  society  and  the  state  is  indicated  as  pleasing  to 
God  ;  spirits  who  have  to  do  with  the  welfare  of  families,  societies,  states,  cannot 
but  be  beneficent.  With  the  immutability  of  the  divine  requirements,  the  variable 
demands  of  morality,  the  profound  and  in  part  noble  requirements  of  society,  are 
content  to  be  allied  where  they  enjoin  respect  for  age,  the  safeguarding  of  marriage, 
of  children,  and  also  of  property — this  last  in  the  form  of  the  highly  selfish  laws 
of  "taboo."  This  gives  the  blending  of  temporal  and  spiritual  interests.  The 
cunning  priest  whom  enlightenment  sees  at  work,  under  one  cover  with  the  prince, 
to  keep  the  people  stupid  is,  especially  at  this  stage,  no  mere  fiction.  Secular  and 
spiritual  law  are  fused.  If  the  chief  is  a  sacred  person,  any  revolt  against  the 
order  at  the  head  of  which  he  stands  is  sin  ;  and  now  religion  serves  for  the  more 
easy  taming  of  the  agitator  and  subverter. 

The  distinction  between  good  and  evil,  which  the  profound  sentiment  of  the 
Mosaic  story  places  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  process  of  the  Incarnation,  must, 
in  any  case,  have  grown  up  early  and  spontaneously  in  another  way.  In  Nature 
we  find  the  harmful  and  the  beneficial,  and  in  the  universal  animation  their  counter- 
parts pass  from  her  into  the  spirit-world.  The  feeling  of  thankfulness  toward  the 
Good  is  constantly  being  called  forth  anew.  Man  needs  it,  and  must  be  able  to 
pray  to  it.  Then  if  all  good  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  soul  of  an  ancestor,  we  have 
a  mythic  embodiment  of  the  Good.  But  at  this  point  the  Good  long  remains  as 
the   benefactor   of   the    individual,  not   of  the   whole   community.     There   is  an 


54 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


approach  to  this  notion  when,  as  in  New  Britain,  the  creation  of  all  good  things, 
whether  lands,  institutions,  or  only  traps  for  fish,  is  ascribed  to  one  single  being — ■ 
To  Kabinana  ("  the  wise  ") ;  other  harmful  things  to  another — To  Kovuvuru  (per- 
haps "  the  clumsy  ").  But  when  the  t^yo  halves  of  the  race,  who  bear  the  names 
of  these    creators,    show    no    recognition    of   rank -distinctions,    but    those    called 

Kovuvuru  are  found 
\i^^^^\  .™=^  throughout     on     the 

same  level  as  the  Ka- 
binana, it  looks  as  if 
only  a  very  weak  con- 
trast were  felt.  The 
deep  gap  between  an 
unmoral  religion  and 
one  full  of  morality 
is  attested  by  the 
human  frailty  of  the 
dwellers  in  heaven. 
Why  are  the  mytho- 
logical figures  of  the 
gods  often  so  aban- 
doned from  a  moral 
point  of  view — worse 
even  than  the  men 
who  adore  them  ?  A 
perverse  conception 
of  the  force  and  power 
whereby  they  have  to 
raise  themselves  above 
the  masses  produces  a 
false  ideal  of  divine 
greatness.  We  have, 
too,  the  fable-making 
element,  which  exer- 
cises itself  agreeably 
in  mythology,  and  has 
spread  over  the  whole 
world  that  other  false 


Magicians  of  the  Loango  Coast.     (From  a  photograph  by  Dr.  Falkenstein. ) 


ideal  of  the  cunning  divinity,  outwitting  others  in  adventures  of  love,  war,  even 
business. 

The  priest  is  the  embodiment  of  the  world  of  spirits  with  whom  he  has  to  hold 
intercourse,  whom  he  bans  and  exorcises.  He  is  fitted  for  his  duties  by  the 
expulsion  of  the  ordinary  soul  and  the  entrance  of  a  new  one  ;  he  best  adapts 
himself  to  them  when  he  differs  mentally  from  the  ordinary  mass  with  a  tendency 
to  mental  derangement,  epilepsy,  hallucinations,  and  vivid  dreams.  The  tradi- 
tions of  the  fetish  priesthood  are  propagated  by  instruction,  which  is  imparted  to 
suitable  youths.  As  a  transformation  from  the  normal  man  to  a  controller  of  spirits 
with  magic  powers,  the  training  assumes  the  character  of  the  miraculous,  even  a  form 
of  transmigration.      Those  whom  the  fetish  loves   are   taken  away  by  him  into  the 


RELIGION 


55 


bush  and  buried  in  the  fetish  house,  often  for  a  long  period.  When  the  person 
thus  carried  off  awakes  again  to  Hfe  he  begins  to  eat  and  drink  as  before,  but  his 
understanding  is  gone  and  the  fetish  man  must  instruct  him  and  teach  him  to 
perform  every  movement  hke  a  httle  child.  At  first  this  can  only  be  done  by 
blows,  but  gradually  his  senses  return,  so  that  it  is  possible  to  speak  to  him,  and 
after  his  education  is  completed  the  priest  takes  him  back  to  his  parents.  Often 
they  would  not  recognise  him  did  he  not  recall  past  events  to  their  memory. 

The  nucleus  of  his  art  lies  in  his  intercourse  with  the  spirits  of  the  departed, 
but  as  sorcerer  he  is  the  receptacle  of  all  knowledge,  all  memories,  and  all  fore- 
bodings. Many  Europeans  have  been  in  a  position  to  appreciate  the  operation 
of  his  medicaments  of  herbs  and  roots.  The  position  of  the  sorcerer  is  that  of 
the  doctor  on  a  higher  stage  ;  some  doctors  understand  certain  disorders — for 
example,  worms, — better  than  others,  and  to 
these  patients  are  sent  by  the  sorcerers.  Bleek 
asserts  that  among  the  Kaffirs  of  Natal  their 
doctors,  as  a  rule,  dissect  beasts,  but  that  in 
time  of  war  some  have  secretly  dissected  men  ; 
this  is  a  solitary  statement.  In  any  case  they, 
no  more  than  their  patients,  content  them- 
selves with  natural  remedies  derived  from  the 
animal  and  vegetable  kingdom,  but  they  ob- 
tain, as  they  think,  the  deepest  and  most 
secure  effects  by  the  intervention  of  super- 
natural powers,  whereby  also  troubles  other 
than  sickness,  such  as  those  of  love,  hatred, 
envy,  may  find  a  cure.  The  production  of 
hallucinations  was  familiar  to  the  priests. 
When    they  brought    these    about  they  were 

merely  creating  fresh  supports  to  faith.       Long       Dice  and  amulets  of  a  Bamangwato  magician. 
■'  =>  '^'^  .  ,  (Ethnographical  Museum  at  Munich.) 

before   science  they  were  m  possession  ot   the 

secrets  of  suggestion,  hypnotism,  and  the  like.  The  people  themselves  knew  a 
good  deal,  but  the  sorcerer  always  kept  the  best  a  secret.  Consider  the  power 
that  resides  in  the  mere  fact  of  tradition.  Often,  indeed,  the  only  kind  of  knowledge 
of  history  possessed  by  these  races  is  the  tradition  of  important  events  which  is 
handed  down  secretly  among  the  priests,  and  astounds  those  who  seek  for  counsel 
by  the  appearance  of  a  supernatural  knowledge.  Naturally,  this  knowledge  can 
also  be  put  at  the  service  of  the  sovereign  and  of  politics.  The  sanctity  of  tradition 
had  also  the  object  of  making  it  secure,  and  in  this  sense  we  can  say  that  it  replaces 
writing.  Writing  and  printing  have  damaged  the  position  of  the  priest.  The  art  of 
tradition  had  also  been  specially  cultivated  ;  to  it  belongs  the  knowledge  of  tradi- 
tional signs  and  pictures  in  higher  stages,  the  art  of  writing  and  reading,  if  possible, 
in  a  special  script,  as  with  the  Egyptian  priests.  Special  priests'  languages  recur 
among  the  most  different  races  of  the  earth  ;  the  fundamental  ideas  of  Shamanism 
are  accompanied  everywhere  by  details  similar  or  agreeing  even  in  the  smallest 
points,  of  a  kind  which,  in  some  respects,  is  not  everywhere  intelligible.  Arrows 
to  be  shot  off  at  the  completion  of  a  conjuration  in  order  to  lay  the  evil  spirit  form 
part  of  the  sorcerer's  equipment  on  the  Lower  Amoor  as  well  as  m  Africa, 
America,  and  Oceania. 


S6 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


The  employment  of  masks  in  religious  ceremonies  is  widely  spread  in  all 
countries  where  the  form  of  religion  is  polytheistic.  Beast  masks  and  human 
masks,  monsters  and  complicated  head-dresses,  all  find  a  use  in  religious  perform- 
ances. They  recur  in  China,  Thibet,  India,  Ceylon,  among  the  old  Mexicans  and 
Peruvians,  as  also  among  Eskinios,  Melanesians,  and  African  Negroes.  The 
Aleutians  put  masks  along  with  the  bodies  in  the  graves,  with  such  comically  dis- 
figured features  that  one  is  inclined  to'  take  them  for  dancing  masks,  which  at  one 
time  served  a  profane  end,  and  now  are  connected  with  serious  conceptions  of  life 
and  return  after  death. 

Prognostications  alone  involve  a  complete  science.  Their  number  is  so  great 
that  they  teem  through  everything  and  hamper  life  on  all  sides.  To  give  only  a 
few  examples  from  the  Kaffirs.  Eating  milk  products  in  a  thunderstorm  attracts 
the  lightning.  If  you  eat  milk  in  a  strange  kraal  you  will  commit  a  transgression 
there.      You  must  not  do  field  work   the  day  after  a  hailstorm  or  you  will  bring 


Masks  from  New  Ireland — one-eighth  of  real  size.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology. ) 


down  more  hail.  He  who  kills  a  hawk  must  be  put  to  death.  If  a  bird  of  this 
kind  settles  on  a  kraal  it  is  a  sign  of  bad  luck  for  the  owner.  If  a  cock  crows 
before  midnight  it  betokens  death  for  man  or  cattle.  The  same  evil  significance 
is  attached  to  the  springing  of  a  dog  or  a  calf  on  a  hut,  and  to  the  appearance  of 
a  rabbit  in  a  kraal.  The  whisker  of  a  leopard  brings  sickness  and  death  upon  any 
one  who  eats  it  unaware  in  his  food,  but  if  any  one  eats  it  with  some  of  the  flesh 
of  that  animal  he  becomes  brave,  and  has  luck  in  the  chase.  Dogs  who  eat  the 
beak  and  claws  of  birds  become  strong  and  courageous.  He  who  steps  upon  a 
thorn  must  eat  it  in  order  to  protect  himself  from  it  next  time.  The  horrible  and 
widespread  belief  that  no  fatal  accident  which  is  in  any  way  unusual  can  be 
natural,  gives  rise  to  a  mass  of  magic  practices,  which  pre-suppose  a  great  know- 
ledge of  personalities  and  their  influence.  Ordeals  which  in  Africa  are  intensified 
by  means  of  strong  poisons  are  surrounded  with  a  strict  ritual,  as  are  sorceries 
connected  with  rain,  the  renewal  of  fire,  and  the  most  important  periodical  incidents 
in  the  field,  the  cattle-stall,  and  the  chase. 

The  spiritual  elements  of  a  civilization  are  constantly  exposed  to  the  most 
rapid  decay.  As  it  is  just  these  which  are  the  motive  forces  in  its  forward 
development,  this  fact  alone  explains  the  great  tendency  to  stagnation  with 
inevitable  retrogression.  The  history  of  religions  is  specially  instructive  here. 
If  we  ask  in  which  elements  Christianity  has  undergone  the  greatest  modifications 


RELIGION  57 


among  the  Abyssinians,  or  Buddhism  among  the  Mongols,  the  answer  must  be 
in  the  most  spiritual.  All  founders  of  religions  have  borne  higher  ideals  than 
their  successors,  and  the  history  of  all  religions  begins  with  a  declension  from  the 
height  reached  by  pure  enthusiasm,  to  which  later  reformers  at  long  intervals 
endeavour  again  to  raise  themselves  and  their  fellow-professors.  In  monotheism 
we  taste  the  bitterness  of  the  sharp  experiences  of  life  known  to  advanced  age. 
Who  can  wonder  that  young  and  naive  races  do  not  esteem  it  in  all  it3  pure 
worth  ?  Abstractions  are  not  fit  for  the  masses.  The  same  holds  good  in  matters 
of  dogma.  It  is  not  purity  of  dogma  for  which  the  fanaticism  of  the  multitude 
cares,  but  for  having  the  religion  to  which  it  is  accustomed  left  undisturbed. 
How  easily,  in  the  extension  of  races,  the  deeply -differing  principles  at  the 
base  of  religion  tend  to  disappear  behind  forms  is  shown  by  nothing  better  than 
by  the  simultaneous  Buddhist  and  Brahmin  worship  that  takes  place  in  many 
temples  in  Burmah  and  Ceylon.  The  magnificent  ruins  of  Angkor  Bat,  in 
Cambodia,  are  a  unique  surviving  testimony  to  this  state  of  degradation  of  religions 
into  a  blend. 

Outwardly  decay  shows  itself  in  the  split  between  form  and  essence,  and  it  is 
here  that  the  first  rifts  are  formed.  Then  the  work  of  destruction  is  carried  farther 
by  external  decomposing  influences,  impaired  strength,  impoverishment,  loss  of 
independence,  dwindling  numbers.  Artistic  facility  does  not  keep  pace  with 
spiritual  creative  power ;  as  we  may  see  by  comparing  the  spiritual  imaginings 
of  Polynesian  mythology  with  their  representations  in  stone  or  wood.  The  spirit 
evaporates  without  leaving  any  creations  behind  fully  corresponding  to  its '  own 
power  and  grandeur  ;  but  the  forms  remain.  That  is  why  among  the  so-called 
"  natural "  races  the  forms,  even  the  most  rudimentary,  often  hold  a  higher 
place  than  the  essence  ;  and  this  alone  marks  a  stage  in  degradation.  In  almost 
all  religions  we  meet  with  blurred  traces  of  higher  conceptions,  and  not  only  in 
spiritual  but  in  purely  material  affairs,  like  those  articles  used  in  Buddhist  worship, 
which  have  passed  into  the  paraphernalia  of  Shamanism,  brought  thither  by  the 
active  traffic  between  the  more  opulent  Shamans  and  the  Chinese,  or  the  Christian 
crosses  which  in  Tuckey's  time  were  carried  as  fetishes  on  the  lower  Congo. 
Some  isolated  Christian  notions  had  anticipated  the  missionaries.  When  Dobriz- 
hofifer  was  trying  to  convert  the  Guaranis  on  the  Empalado,  an  old  cacique  said 
to  him  :  "  Father  priest,  you  need  not  have  come  ;  we  need  no  priests.  St. 
Thomas  long  ago  gave  his  blessing  to  our  land."  The  idea  of  a  Devil,  the  most 
conspicuous  evil  spirit,  was  spread  long  before  Christianity  by  uneducated  Europeans, 
and  has  led  to  the  assumption  of  "  devil-worshippers,"  and  a  dualism  of  good  and 
evil  spirits.  On  the  other  hand,  with  regard  to  the  legends  of  creation  and  the 
flood,  often  no  less  suspicious,  and  their  curious  accordance  with  Genesis,  they 
are  too  universal  and  too  deeply  entwined  with  the  whole  mythology  to  allow  us 
to  assign  them  so  recent  and  so  casual  an  origin  ;  part  of  them,  at  least,  belong 
to  the  world-myth,  whose  origins  date  from  pre-Christian  times. 

Have  we  in  religion  isolated  developments  or  a  network  with  closer  meshes 
here,  looser  there  ?  The  answer  involves  more  than  any  classification  can  offer  ; 
indeed,  we  shall  not  be  in  a  position  to  classify  aright  until  we  have  made  it  clear 
to  ourselves  how  much  is  the  common  property  of  mankind,  how  much  the  separate 
possession  of  a  race.  What  we  have  to  say  on  this  point  is  connected  with  and 
supplements  what  has  been  said  above  about  the  common  possession  of  mankind. 


58  THE   HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

"  Animism  "  and  ancestor-worship  are  common  to  all  human  nature  :  Bastian 
calls  them  elementary  thoughts.  As  we  may  learn  from  funeral  customs,  their  mani- 
festations often  agree  even  in  details.  From  them  we  could  reconstruct  a  universal 
doctrine  of  souls  as  held  by  savages.  Fragments  from  China  and  North  America, 
Germany  and  Australia,  fit  with  wonderful  precision,  and  form  a  united  body  of 
doctrine  consistent  in  its  fundamental  features.  We  have  seen  how  the  "  universal 
animation  "  of  Nature  connects  itself  with  this.  No  doubt  the  objects  which  it 
animates  are  different  in  Greenland  and  in  Fiji  ;  but  from  like  sources  it  draws, 
with  like  bounty,  superstitious  usages  absolutely  alike.  For  this  reason  the  men 
who  have  power  over  these  things  agree  so  extraordinarily  in  disposition  and 
character.  The  Shaman  of  northern  Asia  and  the  African  rain-maker,  the  American 
medicine-man  and  the  Australian  sorcerer  are  alike  in  their  nature,  their  aims,  and 
to  some  extent  in  their  expedients. 

All  mythology  has  outgrown  the  small  local  influences  which  once  must  have 
been  powerful  in  it.  We  do  not  mean  that  in  the  mythological  reflection  in  the 
popular  mind  of  regular  natural  phenomena,  it  is  not  often  some  slight  abnormality 
which  is  felt  as  such  far  beyond  the  measure  of  its  magnitude,  as  when  the  sun  is 
distorted  on  the  horizon  ;  we  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  extent  to  which 
sun-worship  flourished  in  Peru  rested  upon  the  certainty  in  that  land  of  little  rain 
or  cloud,  that  the  brightest  of  the  heavenly  bodies  would  at  all  times  be  seen 
uncovered  ;  nor  do  we  forget  the  influence  of  historical  facts  such  as  meet  us  in 
the  legend  of  the  primitive  abode  of  Iroquois  and  Algonquins,  in  which  they  saw 
not  only  their  home,  but  also  the  places  whence  kind  white  men  with  beards  came 
to  them.  Here  one  element  may  preponderate  over  another ;  the  main  fact 
remains  that  they  were  bound  together  by  like  fundamental  thoughts  from  which 
what  we  call  the  world-myth  was  constructed. 

The  chief  trait  in  the  world-myth  is  the  opposition  between  heaven  and  earth. 
Heaven  appears  sometimes  as  itself,  sometimes  as  the  sun,  i.e.  the  sun  is  the  eye 
of  heaven.  They  are  interchangeable  ;  thus  among  the  South  Americans  a  belief 
in  heaven  replaces  the  very  marked  belief  in  the  sun,  as  the  future  home  of  the 
soul,  which  exists  among  the  North  Americans.  In  the  work  of  creation  the  sun 
is  the  assistant  of  heaven.  The  earth  is  always  opposed  to  both  ;  its  creatures 
are  subordinate  ;  it  is  always  regarded  as  the  female  upon  whom  heaven  begot 
all  existing  things,  man  in  particular.  With  sun,  lightning  (or  the  god  of  thunder), 
fire,  volcano,  earthquake,  is  associated  also  the  idea  of  an  assistant  creator  who 
approaches  the  earth  in  the  revolution  of  the  sun,  in  the  lightning-flash,  in  volcanic 
eruptions,  just  in  proportion  as  heaven  remains  remote  from  him.  Hephaestus 
and  Prometheus,  Demiurge  and  chastised  fire-bringer,  life -giver  and  destroyer, 
he  stands  at  the  centre  of  many  a  religious  system,  and  heaven,  the  All-father, 
comes  far  behind  him.  The  Maui-myths  are  common  to  all  mankind,  not  specially 
Polynesian.  They  might  just  as  well  be  called  after  Loki,  who  is  also  a  crippled 
god  of  the  under-world,  or  after  Daramoolun,  the  thunder-god  of  the  South 
Australian  races,  whose  name  Ridley  translates  by  "  leg  on  one  side,''  or  "  lame," 
or  again  after  the  Hottentot  Tsuigoab,  "  wounded  knee."  No  myths,  and  so 
not  these,  can  be  made,  in  proportion  to  their  wider  or  narrower,  denser  or  looser, 
distribution,  the  bases  for  conclusions  which  have  reference  only  to  limited  race- 
relationships  ;  it  is  quite  enough  if  the  characteristic  features  turn  up  elsewhere. 
Maui,  like  Hephsstus,  is  crippled  in  a  limb,  and  dwells  in  the  earth  ;   if  the  South 


RELIGION  59 


Africans  believe  in  a  lame  god  dwelling  in  the  ground,  it  is  the  same.  He  even  meets 
us  in  a  multiplied  form  in  one-legged  gnomes  who  dance  round  the  cave-dwelling 
fire -god  of  the  Araucanians.  The  cloud -serpent  with  the  lightning  is  to  the 
Nahuas  the  creator  of  man,  just  as  the  thunder-god  is  to  the  Tarascos,  or  Ndengei 
to  the  Fijians  ;  and  he  again  is  a  serpent  who  grew  with  the  foundations  of  the 
earth,  and  whose  movements  produce  earthquakes.  And  this  serpent  is,  again,  the 
sacred  dragon  of  China  and  Japan  with  its  endless  variations.^ 

In  connection  with  the  opinion  of  many  races  that  the  god  of  heaven  and  the 
light  who  dwells  in  the  east  is  their  creator  and  benefactor,  they  place  their  original 
abode  in  the  east,  as  the  Mexicans  sung  of  Aztlan,  the  land  of  brightness.  Still 
more  often  the  place  of  departed  souls  is  placed  in  the  western  sky,  where  the 
Islands  of  the  Blessed  rise  in  the  golden  glow  of  sunset.  In  the  description  of  the 
ways  which  the  soul  has  to  travel,  its  dangers  and  escapes,  lies  a  mass  of  simi- 
larities, which  is  far  greater  than  the  missionary,  with  all  his  energy,  can  have 
carried  from  one  people  to  another.  Readers  may  remember  the  Hawaiian  tale 
of  the  soul  brought  back  from  the  under-world.^ 

There  is  scarcely  a  single  legend  of  creation  in  which  a  tree  does  not  occur — 
the  tree  of  the  Hesperides,  the  ash  Yggdrasil,  the  tree  of  Paradise.  It  stands 
between  heaven  and  earth,  the  gods  descend  upon  it,  the  souls  find  the  road  to 
heaven  by  it,  or  it  becomes  a  rough  beam  for  them  to  totter  across  ;  in  short  all 
creation  has  come  out  of  it.  The  region  in  which  men  are  conceived  as  sprung 
from  trees  embraces  Hereros,  Kaffirs,  West  Africans  (cf  cut  on  the  next  page)  ; 
the  kindred  idea  of  an  origin  from  plants  occurs  among  Polynesians  and  South 
Americans.  As  a  geographical  fable  it  has  preserved  its  connection  with  that  of 
the  home  of  souls  :  one  of  the  Canary  Islands,  held  to  be  of  iron,  and  therefore 
waterless,  is  said  to  be  watered  by  means  of  a  tree  "  always  covered  by  a  dense 
cloud  ;  thence  the  leaves  of  the  tree  received  water  which  constantly  dripped,  so  that 
men  and  beasts  got  drink  enough."  This  was  believed  down  to  the  17th  century, 
as  may  be  read  in  Schreyer's  Neue  Ostindianische  Reisebeschreibung  (1680). 

The  men  of  the  present  day  are  in  many  accounts  only  a  second  later-created 
race,  separate  from  an  earlier  one  which  was  destroyed  by  some  great  catastrophe, 
the  falling  of  the  heaven  or  the  flooding  of  the  earth.  Cameron  heard  at  the  lake 
of  Dilolo  that  in  the  depth  of  the  lake  men  were  living,  moving,  and  acting,  as  if 
in  daylight,  their  entire  village  having  been  submerged  for  their  cruelty  in  sending 
away  an  old  beggar  man.  A  single  one  received  him  kindly,  and  so  saved  himself 
and  his  house.  It  may  be  thought  that  is  a  version  of  the  story  of  Noah,  through 
Arabic  or  Abyssinian  tradition.  But  we  find  the  story  elsewhere  also  with  local 
alterations.  The  water  especially  is  regarded  as  inhabited  ;  the  negroes  on  the 
Nile  can  tell  of  splendid  herds  which  the  river-spirits  drive  at  night  to  pasture. 

This  whole  mythology,  put  together  fragmentarily  and  only  half-understood, 
has  as  it  stands  before  us  the  interest  of  an  ancient  building  constructed  of  strange 
stones,  in  which  the  very  gods  of  modern  men,  the  returning  restless  spirits  of  the 
departed,  roam  about  in  a  thousand  forms,  to  which  nevertheless  it  is  only  in  a 
few  places  that  they  assume  a  relation  of  intimate  kinship.  The  fundamental  ideas 
of  animism  and  all  that  is  twined  round  it,  spread  over  the  earth  at  another  date 
and  from  other  sources  than   the  cosmogonic  legends,  the  myths   of  gods,  and   the 

^  [Dragons  also  live  in  mountain-countries,  especially  on  mountain-tops.     Compare  Salimbene's  account  of 
the  ascent  of  the  Canigou  by  Peter  III.  of  Aragon.]  -  Supra,  p.  41. 


6o 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


portraitures  of  the  next  world  ;  and  the  former  were  certainly  much  earlier  than 
the  latter.  Both  show  the  most  striking  similarities  in  the  remotest  regions  ;  but 
in  every  region  they  are  two  independent  worlds  of  ideas,  which  come  into  intimate 
contact  at  a  few  points  only,  while  even  then  there  intervenes  a  peculiarity  which 
we  may  call  "  free  invention,"  or  at  least  "  free  variation."  We  do  not  share  the 
view  that  every  custom,  every  usage,  of  these  races  with  no  traditions  must  be 
deeply  rooted  in  some  historical  association.  Much  comes  into  existence  in  sport ; 
the  Nyambe  worship  of  the  Balubas  is  not  the  only  case  in  which  the  suggestion 
of  a  whim  has  had  consequences.     Beside  the  great  similarities,  finally,  we  find 


Cemetery  and  sacred  tree  in  Mbinda.     (After  Stanley. ) 

the  smaller  ones.     These  help  to  explain   the    others,  of  which  they  are  often 
survivals,  roots,  or  offshoots. 

As  we  find  in  all  parts  of  the  earth,  where  Europeans  have  built  houses  and 
ploughed  the  soil,  the  same  plants  growing  in  rubbish  or  springing  from  seed  ;  so 
isolated  superstitious  usages,  of  little  importance  in  themselves,  sprout  up  as 
survivals  and  traces  of  thoughts  which  are  universally  diffused.  The  belief  not 
only  in  the  evil  eye,  but  in  hands  and  horseshoes  as  counter-charms  to  it,  is  found 
in  India,  Arabia,  North  Africa,  and  Europe.  In  Morocco  the  women,  when  in 
mourning  or  after  illnesses,  hang  little  balls  made  of  their  hair  on  certain  trees,  a 
custom  which,  as  the  hair-offering,  we  meet  with  in  the  most  various  forms  in  all 
parts  of  the  earth.  It  is  only  one  portion  of  a  complex  mass  of  usages  the  aim  of 
which  is  respect  towards,^  concealment  or  offering  up  of,  whatever  is  taken  from 
the    body.      Here    also    belongs    circumcision,    a    custom    most    irregular    in    its 


RELIGION  6 1 


distribution.  Zulus  practise  it,  Bechuanas  do  not ;  it  is  found  in  New  Caledonia, 
but  not  in  the  Loyalty  Isles.  In  its  special  ritual  form  again  it  runs  through  the 
most  various  and  distant  countries. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  refer  to  one  of  those  usages  which  seem  to  have 
something  playful  about  them,  and  of  which  for  that  very  reason  the  wide 
dissemination  strikes  us.  In  Ancon  and  Flores,  frames  made  of  reeds,  and 
having  many-coloured  threads  wound  over  them  in  the  fashion  of  a  flag,  or  a  star, 
are  put  into  the  grave  with  the  corpse  (Figs.  7,  8  in  the  coloured  plate  "  American 
Antiquities).  Among  the  Pimas  a  religious  significance  is  attached  to  them,  and 
we  find  them  in  Vancouver  and  Chittagong  without  any  nearer  definition  of  their 
purpose.  In  Egypt  they  form  ornaments  for  horses  ;  in  Bolivia  they  are  stuck  in 
the  rafters. 

In  order  to  take  a  general  view  of  the  extension  of  the  various  religions,  it  is 
customary  to  divide  them  into  a  few  large  groups,  to  the  statistics  of  which,  if  we 
only  demand  estimated  figures,  an  approximation  can  be  obtained.  If  the 
grouping  is  to  be  based  on  the  deepest-seated  differences,  in  order  not  to  break  up 
mankind  into  casual  fragments,  but  to  distinguish  them  according  to  the  true 
height  and  depth  of  their  religious  development,  we  must  not  always  take  into 
consideration  the  traditional,  superficial  forces,  Christianity,  Paganism,  Polytheism, 
Monotheism.  If  we  survey  the  religious  development  of  mankind  in  connection 
with  their  total  development,  we  recognise  that  its  great  landmarks  lie  elsewhere. 
Monotheism  arises  even  in  the  midst  of  polytheism  as  a  natural  effort  to  provide 
one  Supreme  Being  ;  while  the  monotheistic  creeds  are  invaded  by  the  impulse  to 
distribute  the  one  who  is  distant  into  several,  or  many  more  accessible. 
At  the  base  of  the  religious  development  of  existing  men  we  find : 

I.  Religions  wherein  the  divine  is  not  exalted  far  above  the  human,  and 
without  any  strong  moral  element.  These  rest  in  all  cases  on  belief  in  souls  or 
ghosts  ;  allied  with  this  are  sooth -saying,  medicine,  rain -magic,  and  other 
superstitions. 

In  one  group  we  find  the  association  of  natural  phenomena  to  be  only  slight, 
and  the  tendency  to  fetishism  accordingly  strong,  as  with  many  Negro  races  and 
the  Northern  Asiatics  ;  in  the  other  a  higher  development  of  cosmogonic  and 
mythological  conceptions  to  entire  systems,  as  with  Polynesians  and  Americans. 

II.  Religions  which  exalt  the  divine  far  above  the  human  sphere,  and 
progressively  detach  themselves  from  any  mixture  with  other  efforts  of  the  mind 
in  the  direction  of  science,  poetry,  and  the  like,  cultivating  proportionately  the 
moral  element.  The  belief  in  souls  recurs  in  a  purified  form  in  the  assumption  of 
a  future  life  with  rewards  and  punishments. 

(a.)  Polytheism,  which  allows  a  position  of  sovereignty  to  several  locally 
varying  gods  without  always  recognising  any  moral  superiority  in 
them,  as  the  Brahmins  and  Buddhists,  pre-Christian  Europeans,  the 
ancient  Americans. 

(iJ.)  Monotheism  in  different  grades  01  development,  according  to  the  number 
and  importance  of  the  beings  akin  to  gods,  saints,  and  so  on,  who 
intervene  between  the  one  God  and  man.  The  single  God  appearing 
in  the  highest  moral  perfection — Mussulmans,  Jews,  Christians. 

Christianity,  at  the  beginning  of  its  intimate  and  manifold  contact  with  non- 
European  races,  soon  laid  aside  the  prejudice  that  their  souls  were  not  destined  to 


62  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

salvation,  and  from  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  missionary  formed 
the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  trade  and  conquest — even  of  the  slave  trade.  Not 
only  as  an  institution  with  religious  aims,  but  generally  as  an  effect  produced  by 
strangers  among  a  race  of  whose  nature  they  often  know  very  little,  but  into 
which  they  try  most  forcibly  to  penetrate,  the  entrance  of  the  missionary  is 
important  from  an  ethnographic  point  of  view. 

The  monotheistic  religions  could  not  well  attach  themselves  to  such  a 
wavering  uncertain  conception  as  that  of  Nyambe  or  Manitu.  In  most  cases 
they  could  not  even  use  the  name  of  the  supreme  being  whom  they  found  in 
possession  to  denote  their  one  God  ;  misunderstandings  would  have  been  too  great. 
But  the  possibility  of  forming  a  connection,  even  of  fruitfully  cultivating  the 
already  prepared  soil,  is  doubtless  presented  in  other  religious  ideas  of  the 
"  natural "  races.  Theoretically  for  the  understanding  of  the  much-despised 
condition  of  religion  among  the  "  natural "  races,  no  less  than  practically  for 
estimating  the  prospects  of  Christianity,  it  is  worth  while  to  emphasise  these.  The 
idea  of  the  continued  life  of  departed  spirits,  on  which  that  of  a  future  world  also 
rests,  is  fundamentally  akin  to  the  Christian  doctrines  of  the  soul  and  immortality. 
To  cherish  the  memory  of  ancestral  souls  is  in  no  way  in  contradiction  with 
Christianity,  but  it  must  pause  before  the  deification  of  ancestors  with  which 
idolatry  begins.  In  the  cosmogonic  myths  of  natural  races  Christianity  finds 
traits  of  its  own  doctrine  of  creation  reproduced,  often  in  striking  agreement ; 
lastly,  the  Christian  doctrine  of  God  as  Father  and  Son  may  be  attached  to  the 
ideas  of  a  Demiurge. 

The  gap  opens  as  soon  as  we  set  foot  upon  the  moral  law,  that  essential  con- 
stituent of  Christian  doctrine.  In  spite  of  Abraham's  sacrifice  the  missionaries 
must  set  their  faces  firmly  against  human  sacrifices  and  the  low  value  attached  to 
human  life.  What  is  more  difficult,  they  must  extend  their  influence  upon  the 
morals  of  their  scholars  much  farther  into  the  domain  of  the  purely  secular  than 
did  the  heathen  priests.  Their  Christianity  must  have  a  social  and  economic  side, 
and  therewith  be  revolutionary  in  its  effects.  Polygamy  and  slavery  form  two 
great  stumbling-blocks.  Missionaries  seek  to  reach  their  aim  by  reforming  the 
economic  existence  of  their  disciples,  but  may  easily  go  too  far  in  that  direction. 
Certain  philanthropists  who  sent  a  missionary  with  Captain  Fitzroy  to  that 
forgotten  spot  of  earth,  Tierra  del  Fuego,  wrote  in  his  instructions  :  "  In  your 
intercourse  with  the  Fuegians  you  will  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  the  temporal  advan- 
tages which  you  may  be  capable  of  communicating  to  them  that  they  will  be 
most  easily  and  immediately  sensible  of.  Among  these  may  be  reckoned  the 
acquisition  of  better  dwellings,  and  better  and  more  plentiful  food  and  clothing. 
Consequently  you  will  consider  it  a  primary  duty  to  instruct  them  in  cultivating 
the  potato,  cabbage,  and  other  vegetables,  and  to  rear  pigs,  poultry,  etc.,  and  to 
construct  a  commodious  habitation.  You  will  probably  find  in  this  as  in  more 
important  things  that  example  is  the  most  influential  instructor.  You  must  there- 
fore take  care  to  have  a  comfortable  habitation  yourself,  furnished  with  all  necessary 
articles,  and  kept  clean  and  orderly.  You  will  also  fence  in  a  piece  of  ground  for 
a  garden  and  get  it  well  stocked  with  the  most  useful  vegetables,  and  also  surround 
yourself  as  quickly  as  possible  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  pigs,  goats,  and  fowls." 

This  is  a  beautiful  plan  ;  why  were  its  results  so  meagre  ?  Such  an  attempt  to 
bring  men  over  from  a  poor  but  easy  state  of  existence  to  one  which,  though  better. 


RELIGION 


63 


demands  more  of  them,  can  be  nothing  but  an  economic  revolution  which  is  not 
only  capable  of  bringing  blessings,  but  also  certain  to  cause  mischief,  and  the 
latter  sooner  than  the  former.  The  existence  of  the  Fuegians  may  very  well 
appear  dreadful  to  European  eyes  and  pleasant  enough  to  their  own.  The 
missionary  must  in  all  cases  start  with  a  notion  that  the  higher  civilization  is 
certain  to  have  a  decomposing  effect  upon  the  conditions  of  heathen  life,  and  that 
he  should  soften  the  transition  by  the  practical  schooling  of  his  disciples  ;  but  he 
should  not  play  the  part  of  artisan  or  tradesman.  This  contradicts  the  mystic 
element  which  resides  together  with  a  mass  of  superstitions  in  the  priesthood  of 
natural  races.  This  must  not  be  undervalued,  but  we  must  recollect  the  vows  of 
self-denial  so  frequent  in   Africa,  which  are  taken  with   special   ceremonies  and 


Boat-coffin  from  Timorlaut.     (From  a  model  in  the  Ethnographical  Museum,  Dresden. 

Strictly  kept ;  or  the  bodily  and  spiritual  acts  of  self-injury  performed  by  the 
Shaman  when  he  is  sending  out  his  soul  in  convulsions.  It  is  in  the  healthy 
alliance  of  self-denial  with  practical  work  that  the  success  of  the  missionary 
monastic  orders  lies.  The  aim  which  the  German  missionaries  to  the  Hereros  set 
before  them  has  for  its  basis  an  economic  and  social  development  such  as 
Christianity  might  entertain  ;  deeds  are  more  effective  than  spoken  doctrine  as 
they  are  shown  in  the  demeanour  of  the  missionary,  and  above  all  in  the  calm 
security  with  which  he  regards  and  treats  the  things  of  the  world.  Finally  the 
priest  can  only  make  a  breach  in  the  chaos  of  superstition  if  he  is  at  the  same 
time  capable  of  acting  as  physician. 

The  universally-recurring  combination  of  chiefhood  and  priesthood  leaves  no 
doubt  that  the  success  of  missions  depends  upon  a  right  estimate  of  political 
conditions.  Not  till  the  missionary  can  obtain  the  backing  of  a  powerful  chief 
will  the  discharge  of  his  task  as  a  rule  be  possible.  The  Austrian  mission  in 
Gondokoro,  started  with  such  sanguine  hopes,  collapsed  without  leaving  any  traces 
worth  mentioning  of  its  devoted  activity  (Speke,  with  some  exaggeration,  says 
without  having  accomplished  a  single  conversion),  chiefly  because  it  took  a 
perfectly  independent  attitude.      In   fact,  instead   of  any  government  which   could 


64  *THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


keep  in  check  the  Bari  population,  in  their  state  of  utter  political  decay,  and 
protect  their  property  against  themselves,  there  was  nothing  but  a  society  opposed 
in  its  very  essence  and  aims  to  all  missionary  activity,  that  of  the  slave-traders. 
Results  have  shaped  themselves  quite  otherwise  where  the  missionaries  have  been 
able  to  develop  their  operations  under  cover  of  even  such  toleration  from  a  chief 
as  Moffat  got  from  Mosilikatse  ;  or  when  they  have  enjoyed  the  protection  of 
powerful  chieftains,  as  Livingstone  among  the  Basutos  and  Makololos  under 
Sechele  and  Sebituane,  or  the  missionaries  of  different  denominations  under  Mtesa 
and  Mwanga  in  Uganda — though  in  this  instance  they  have  unfortunately  not 
been  able  to  keep  clear  of  parties. 

From  all  this  it  should  be  clear  that  missions  can  only  go  to  work  with  a 
prospect  of  success  after  thorough  study  of  the  religious  notions  and  secular 
institutions  of  the  "  natural  "  races.  Ethnology  owes  most  valuable  contributions 
to  many  missionaries  who  have  realised  this.  Very  frequently  it  has  been  the 
inevitable  study  of  the  languages  which  has  led  to  a  deeper  understanding  of  the 
life  of  a  race.  But  he  who  would  teach  savages  what  is  deepest  and  most 
essential  in  Christianity  must  also  understand  it  himself  The  least  successful 
missionaries  have  always  been  uneducated  men,  incapable  of  a  right  conception 
of  their  own  faith,  such  as  have  been  sent  out  in  numbers  by  England  and 
America  :  men  without  love,  who  have  often  been  rather  traders  or  political  agents 
than  Christian  ministers. 

In  conclusion  we  may  again  point  out  that  the  implanting  of  a  new  faith 
always  implies  a  simultaneous  transformation  in  civilization,  and  must  be  the 
work  of  more  than  one  generation.  A  mission  allows  of  no  hurry,  it  must  shirk 
no  trouble  to  heap  up  grain  upon  grain,  it  must  not  allow  itself  to  be  seduced  into 
snatching  at  opportunities  which  seem  to  afford  a  chance  of  more  rapid  progress, 
and  thereby,  even  were  it  only  temporarily,  diverted  from  its  true  aim. 

Next  to  Christianity,  Islam  is  the  chief  proselytising  monotheistic  religion. 
In  many  respects  it  seems  better  to  meet  the  comprehension  of  the  more  backward 
races.  In  Africa  and  Asia  it  makes  progress.  Its  extension  may  be  merely 
superficial,  as  in  the  negro  countries  of  Africa,  where  we  find  among  the  Furs, 
under  a  Mussulman  varnish,  the  belief  in  a  god  called  Mola  and  sky-worship  in 
full  vigour,  while  in  West  Africa  the  transition  from  the  Mussulman  mollah  to  the 
fetish  priest  is  imperceptible  ;  but  still  it  strikes  its  roots  deeper  than  Christianity. 
It  offers  no  logical  difficulties,  and  its  practical  commands  may  be  lived  up  to 
with  a  certain  laxity.  The  permission  of  polygamy  and  slavery  gives  it  an 
incomparable  advantage  compared  with  Christianity.  The  prohibition  of  the 
former  indeed  excludes  from  Christianity,  at  all  events  until  a  profound  moral 
renovation  takes  place,  all  those  persons  of  property  whose  higher  social  position 
is  above  all  things  indicated  by  the  ability  to  keep  several  wives,  and  for  whom 
this  is  the  chief  satisfaction  derived  from  their  wealth.  Upon  this  institution,  to 
which  even  missionaries  do  not  always  venture  to  offer  stubborn  opposition,  and 
which  quite  recently  in  the  southern  Ural  has  caused  hundreds  of  Tartars  to 
renounce  Christianity  under  the  eyes  of  Russian  officials,  a  great  part  of  the 
influence  of  Islam  depends.  The  general  upshot  is  that  Islam  is  usually  better 
suited  to  the  society  and  polity  of  the  least  advanced  races,  and  is  allied  with  a 
civilization  all  the  closer  to  theirs  for  the  reason  that  the  place  of  its  origin  is 
nearer  their  own  both  in  locality  and  in  climate. 


Printed  Tjv  the  Baiiogxaplusches  Inslitut.  Leipzig. 

WEAPONS,  UTENSILS,  AND  ORNAMENTS  OF  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


WEAPONS,  UTENSILS,  AND  ORNAMENTS  OF  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


1.  Wooden  club :  Haida,  Queen  Char- 

lotte's Island. 

2.  War-dance  flute,  Sioux. 

3.  Pipe:  Blackfoot  Indian. 

4.  Arrow :  Apache   (New  Mexico). 

5.  Racquet:  Choctaw. 

6.  Blunt  Arrow :  Apache. 

7.  Stone      Tomahawk :       North-west 

America. 

8.  Bow :  Apache. 

9.  Wooden  Club. 

ID-  Post   erected    in    front  of    house  : 


11.  Dancing  rattle  :  (?)  Apache. 

12.  Tobacco  pipe. 

13.  Shield :  Pueblo   (Cochiti). 

14.  Quiver  and  bow-case  :  (?)  Apache. 

15.  Scalping  knife  in  sheath  :  Blackfoot. 

16.  Medicine  bag  of  otter  skin. 

17.  Hunting  pouch :  Cherokee.  ^ 

18.  Bowl :  Pueblo   (Acomo,  Arizona). 

19.  Spear     ornamented    with    feathers 

(Uaup^) :  Brazil. 

20.  Bow :  Conibo. 

21.  Arrow:  Cashibo. 

22.  Arrow  :  Conibo. 


23.  Arrow  :  Shakaya. 

24.  Fishing-arrow :  Shakaya   (Orinoco). 

25.  Fishing-fork :  Pano. 

26.  Harpoon  :  Pano. 

27.  Arrow :  Cashibo. 

28.  Feather  -  sceptre    used    in    dancing : 

Mundrucu. 

29.  Feather-crown  :  Makusi. 

30.  Breast  belt :  Conibo. 

31.  Necklace :  Lengua. 

32.  Ornament  for  the  back :  Rio  Pastaza. 

33.  Carved  spoon  :  Pemba. 

34.  Bowl :  Cocama. 


Haida^ 

One-tenth  natural  size.     All  from  Ethnographical  Museum,  Berlin.    (When  no  place  of  origin  is  given,  it  is  lacking  also  in  the 
Museum  Catologue.     They  are  good  old  pieces  from  the  former  Royal  Cabinet  of  Art). 


SCIENCE  AND  ART  65 


Not  a  third  of  mankind  has  yet  been  won  to  Christendom.  Out  of 
570,000,000  estimated  of  monotheists  440  confess  Christianity.  Of  the  remain- 
ing 900,000,000  of  the  earth's  inhabitants,  the  Buddhists  with  600  occupy  the 
largest  area,  and  the  most  inaccessible  to  Christian  teaching.  It  is  practically 
from  the  residuum  of  the  lowest  heathendom  that  the  missions,  which  now  control 
3000  ordained  men,  have  gained  their  converts.  The  most  conspicuous  successes 
have  been  in  Oceania,  where  a  whole  list  of  island  groups  have  been  won  for 
Christendom,  and  are  now  sending  out  from  among  themselves  missionaries  to 
the  neighbouring  islands.  In  Africa,  Madagascar  is  almost  wholly  under  Christiain 
influence.  The  Hottentots  and  Hereros,  the  people  of  Siberia  and  Sierra  Leone, 
and  numerous  tribes  in  Angola,  on  the  Gold  Coast,  on  the  lower  Niger,  have 
become  Christians.  In  Asia  perhaps  i -400th  part  of  the  population  of  India  has 
been  baptized.  In  China  the  tale  is  yet  less  in  proportion  to  the  mass  of  the 
population — 65,000  in  all.  On  the  other  hand  the  Indian  Archipelago  shows  a 
larger  list  of  Christian  districts.  In  America  nearly  all  the  Eskimo  of  Greenland 
and  Labrador,  many  Indians  in  North  America,  and  the  greater  part  both  of 
them  and  the  Negroes  in  the  West  Indies,  have  been  gained.  In  South  and 
Central  America  the  Spaniards,  both  in  Church  and  State,  have  been  working 
at  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  ever  since  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
with  rnuch  success  in  accessible  localities. 

It  is  obvious  that  no  one  can  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  missions  who 
thinks  that  these  few  figures  express  their  successes.  We  must  always  think  of 
them  in  alliance  with  other  civilizing  forces,  to  which  they  act  as  a  stimulus  or  a 
check.  As  a  spiritual  power  they  effect  much  which  in  its  essence  is  spiritual. 
As  Warneck  says,  "  the  Gospel  puts  new  religious  views  and  moral  conceptions 
into  gradual  circulation,  and  these  surround  even  the  heathen  part  of  the  race 
with  a  new  spiritual  atmosphere.  Wherever  a  mission  has  taken  a  firm  footing, 
paganism  is  no  longer  what  it  was  ;  a  leavening  process  begins  which  ends  with 
its  decomposition  and  the  victory  of  the  Gospel."  And  besides  that,  the  emitted 
light  of  faith  radiates  back  warmth. 


§  7.   SCIENCE  AND  ART 

The  condition  of  scientific  development— The  slow  expanding  of  the  sense  of  Truth— Religion  and  Science- 
Age  of  fear  and  of  mythology — Friendship  with  Nature — Science  under  semi-civilization — Systems  of 
science  among  "natural"  races — Religion  as  the  common  ancestor  of  art  and  science — Poetry  of 
"natural"  races  —  Lyric  and  musical  art — Images  of  souls  and  gods — Priests  and  Artists — Origin  of 
ornament— Ornaments  of  men  and  heasts— Plastic  art— Arts  and  crafts— Sense  of  colour— Modifications 
of  style — Materials — Popular  sports. 

The  fundamental  labour  is  that  of  agriculture.  All  other  forms  of  economic 
activity  pursued  their  course,  hand  in  hand  with  this,  ever  more  rapidly  towards 
perfection,  till  they  attained  in  all  points  what  would  be  achieved  by  industrious 
and  skilled  hands — patience,  devotion,  and  lastly,  a  fine  taste,  so  high  a  mark 
that  later  generations,  working  with  improved  tools  and  clearer  insight,  have  in 
many  cases  not  been  able  to  surpass  it.  They  remained,  however,  stationary  at 
manual  and  individual  labour,  and,  under  the  restraint  of  caste,  stiffened  in  tradi- 

F 


66  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


tional  methods.  Inventions,  machines,  production  on  a  large  scale,  were  not 
reached  till  much  later,  when  a  creative  impulse  brought  into  all  these  activities 
the  mighty  element  of  advance  which  we  now  call  science.  If  manual  labour 
provides  the  basis  of  civilization,  the  training  of  the  mind  in  the  maintenance  and 
renewal  of  mental  possessions  gives  the  force  of  life  and  increase.  In  the  opening 
of  this  second  source  lies  the  cause  of  the  great  advance  from  what  we  vaguely 
call  semi-civilization,  to  what  is  called  by  us  Europeans,  and  is,  the  civilization  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  In  the  year  1847  the  following  question  was  propounded 
at  some  meetings  of  the  Paris  Ethnological  Society.  Wherein  really  lies  the 
more  profound  distinction  between  white  men  and  negroes  ?  Gustav  von  Eichthal 
answered  it  at  that  time  :  "  In  the  possession  by  the  white  man  of  science,  which, 
owing  to  writing,  the  elements  of  calculation,  and  so  on,  penetrates  ever  deeper 
and  gives  permanence  to  itself ;  while  the  negro  is  characterised,  and  his  stationary 
condition  explained,  by  the  total  lack  of  it.''  Of  arithmetic,  geometry,  astronomy, 
and  fixed  measurements  of  time  and  space  they  are  completely  destitute,  and 
therewith  of  what  on  that  occasion  was  named  initiative  civilisatrice.  Meanwhile 
we  must  ascend  high  in  order  to  find  what  is  in  the  highest  sense  science.  We 
claim  to  live  in  the  age  of  science,  and  if  perhaps  yet  more  scientific  ages  are  in 
store  in  the  future,  yet  we  more  than  any  of  our  predecessors  enjoy  a  science 
that  has  of  itself  achieved  great  things.  A  few  centuries  ago  science  was  still  in 
a  dependent  position  as  handmaid  of  the  Church  ;  we  can  trace  her  entire  deliver- 
ance, not  without  great  conflicts,  from  that  bondage.  But  that  was  only  the  con- 
clusion of  a  long  conflict  fought  out  within  the  human  race.  The  "  natural "  races 
show  us  science  in  its  lowest  stage.  They  are  not  wholly  without  it ;  but  their 
science  is  symbolic,  poetic,  still  hidden  within  the  bud  of  religion.  They  are  two 
flowers  which  cannot  expand  rightly  until  they  are  no  longer  in  so  close  contact, 
but  each  allows  the  other  space  to  unfold  freely. 

In  the  lower  stage  religion  includes  all  science  ;  and  the  poetry  which  forms 
myths  is  her  most  powerful  tool.  There  is  no  question  of  truth  ;  only  of  getting 
an  image.  The  sense  of  truth  is  uncommonly  little  developed  among  "  natural " 
races.  The  kindly  Livingstone  wrote  in  his  last  diary  in  Unyamwesi :  "  In  this 
country  you  can  believe  nothing  that  is  not  in  black  and  white,  and  not  much 
even  of  that ;  the  most  circumstantial  report  is  often  pure  imagination.  One 
half  of  what  you  hear  may  safely  be  called  false,  the  other  doubtful  or  not 
authenticated."  The  sense  of  truth  must  have  been  developed  slowly.  The 
most  highly  developed  races  seek  it  most  eagerly  ;  and  we  could  even  undertake 
to  grade  the  present  ^holders  of  civilization  according  to  their  love  for  truth. 
With  every  higher  stage  of  humanity  the  sense  for  truth  increases,  and  in  every 
higher  race  the  number  of  truthful  men. 

There  is  a  period  at  which  the  universal  animation  of  nature  forms  a  principle 
universally  valid.  Fear  or  attraction,  truthfulness  or  usefulness,  divide  all  nature 
between  them_.  That  is  the  highest  form  of  the  subjective  conception.  The 
next  is  mythological  explanation,  which  clothes  correct  interpretation  in  an 
intentionally  distorting  figurative  language.  Above  the  dreary  terror  which  for- 
bids the  Nyassa  negroes  to  mention  earthquakes — how  long  may  the  myth- 
breeding  effect  of  such  a  phenomenon,  from  which  science  at  last  issues,  lie 
quietly  under  the  terror  which  enjoins  a  superstitious  silence ! — soars  the  loving 
dealing  of  poetry  with  Nature.      One  can  speak  of  the  age  of  belief  in  ghosts^ 


SCIENCE  AND  ART         .  67 


and  that  of  mythology  as  successive.  In  the  former  the  bases  of  natural 
science  are  laid  in  the  affinity  and  acquaintance  with  Nature,  which  is  a  great 
peculiarity  of  "  natural "  races.  The  mingling  of  men  and  other  creatures  in  art 
is  no  mere  external  feature.  The  feeling  of  an  absolute  spiritual  distinction 
between  man  and  beast,  so  widespread  in  the  civilized  world,  is  almost  entirely 
lacking  among  savage  races.  Men  to  whom  the  cry  of  beast  and  bird  appears 
like  human  speech,  and  their  actions  seem  as  if  guided  by  human  thought,  are 
quite  logical  in  ascribing  a  soul  to  beast  no  less  than  to  man.  This  feeling  of 
kifiship  shows  especially  in  histories  of  creation,  and  as  a  deduction  from  these 
in  the  beast-legend.  An  enumeration  of  the  animals  to  which  beliefs  and  super- 
stitions have  attached  themselves,  however  copious,  would  give  a  defective  picture. 
In  some  parts  of  Africa  the  chameleon  would  be  prominent,  in  others  the  jackal, 
in  north-west  America  the  otter,  in  the  eastern  parts  the  beaver.  Nahualism 
{nahual=z.  beast  in  Quiche),  the  belief  in  a  familiar  spirit  in  animal  shape  who 
is  friendly  to  man,  suffers  and  dies  with  him,  is  one  way  of  bringing  oneself  into 
alliance  v/ith  the  animal  world  ;  totemism,  which  makes  the  tribe  descend  from 
an  animal,  is  another.  As  a  rule  the  myth-forming  powers  of  the  mind  are 
concentrated  on  certain  selected  points  ;  while  many  others,  which  to  all  appear- 
ance recommend  themselves  equally  well  to  the  myth-forming  spirit,  are  neglected. 
The  predominance  of  traditions  over  new  creations  is  nowhere  shown  so  clearly 
as  in  this  limitation,  which  indeed  has  a  touch  of  the  whimsical. 

The  fettering  of  the  intellectual  powers  by  giving  the  priest  a  free  hand,  and  the 
special  direction  which  is  therein  given  to  them  through  the  preponderance  of 
mystical  tendencies  in  the  service  of  superstition,  explain  much  of  the  backward 
condition  of  many  races,  and  produce  a  hampering,  one  may  say  even  petrifying, 
effect  not  only  upon  the  so-called  natural  races,  but  also  among  those  who  enjoy 
semi-civilization.  In  order  to  understand  this  effect  we  must  form  a  clear  view 
of  the  position  held  by  priests.  Shamans,  medicine  men,  or  whatever  they 
may  be  called.  In  ancient  Mexico  they  received  a  special  training  and  attained 
knowledge  and  power  in  the  following  subjects :  hymns  and  prayers,  national 
traditions,  religious  doctrine,  medicine,  exorcism,  music  and  dancing,  mixing  of 
colours,  painting,  drawing  the  ideographic  signs,  and  phonetic  hieroglyphs. 
This  science  and  ability  might  be  shared  with  others  in  its  practical  employment, 
but  as  a  whole  it  remained  a  privilege  of  their  caste.  The  superstitious  dread  of 
their  magic  power,  of  their  alliance  with  the  supernatural,  their  innate  or  acquired 
capacity  for  states  of  ecstasy,  increased  by  fasting  and  vows  of  chastity,  raised 
them  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  at  large  to  unattainable  heights.  The  artificially 
unintelligible  priest-language  contributed  yet  more  to  mark  them  off,  but  since  the 
aim  of  all  these  preparations  and  labours  was  the  service  of  God,  or  rather  of  spirits 
in  the  widest  sense,  the  elements  of  progress  in  culture  and  science  remained 
unaltered  in  the  germ.  This  religious  torpidity  among  races  whose  intellectual 
life  is  not  yet  supported  by  a  more  developed  division  of  labour  between  classes 
and  callings,  and  for  whom  religion  is  the  entire  intellectual  life,  means  a  fettering 
of  the  intellect.  Science  which,  when  left  to  itself,  is  naturally  capable  of  progress, 
in  this  alliance  is  crippled.  The  Lushais  call  their  witch  doctors  the  "  great  ones 
who  know  "  ;  it  would  be  better  to  designate  them  those  who  can,  for  from  their 
knowledge  proceeds  only  skill,  not  science. 

In    certain   directions   the  intellect   of   man    can   progress    in    straight   lines. 


68  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


which  for  us  are  practically  unlimited.  In  other  matters  it  must  necessarily 
revolve  about  certain  points  without  going  very  far  from  them.  To  the  former 
belong  scientific,  to  the  latter  religious  concerns.  The  creation  of  science 
therefore  forms  one  of  the  greatest  epochs  in  the  life  of  humanity,  and  among 
civilized  nations  the  deepest  cleavages  result  from  the  lack  or  possession  of  it. 
The  orientals  as  a  whole  do  not  understand  how  to  value  the  sciences  for  their 
own  sake.  Bare  interest  in  truth  characterises  them  but  imperfectly.  They 
esteem  knowledge,  but  on  grounds  which  are  alien  to  science.  When  we  find  in 
Chinese  tradition  one  and  the  same  prince  inventing  or  regulating  the  calendar, 
music,  and  the  system  of  weights  and  measures,  while  his  wife  is  regarded  as  the 
inventress  of  silk-worm  breeding  and  silk  working,  one  of  his  ministers  gives  the 
order  to  invent  writing,  and  another  carries  out  the  order  at  once  with  great 
success  ;  when  we  find  in  the  same  age  astronomical  observations  held  in  such 
importance  by  the  State  that  two  statesmen  are  punished  for  neglecting  to 
calculate  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  properly ;  we  see  in  this  close  connection  of 
science  with  State  power  a  proof  of  the  purely  practical  estimate  of  science,  or, 
one  would  rather  say,  of  knowledge  and  skill.  For  this  very  reason  the  most 
modern  scientific  works  of  the  Chinese  look  to  us  like  a  survival  from  the  Middle 
Ages ;  we  see  the  greatest  intellects  of  that  race  proceeding  upon  an  old  road 
from  which  a  sounder  new  road  branched  off  centuries  ago.  It  takes  centuries 
for  a  people  to  disentangle  itself  from  such  errors.  The  Chinese  have  had 
thousands  of  years,  but  they  stifled  all  originality  in  their  hierarchic  examination 
system.  Good  observation  and  false  conclusion  are  by  no  means  irreconcilable. 
The  Chinese  who,  as  indeed  their  art  testifies,  have  good  eyes  for  what  is 
characteristic  in  Nature,  are  above  all  no  bad  describers.  Their  books  of  medicine, 
in  which  2000  to  3000  remedies  are  described,  are  rich  in  definitions  full  of 
knowledge  and  apt  if  often  prolix,  and  still  richer  in  excellent  pictorial  illustrations. 
Their  classifications  too  may  often  claim  to  formulate  carefully  correct  principles 
of  thought,  but  it  is  not  pure  truth  which  stands  as  the  aim  of  all  these  efforts,  it 
is  rather  the  case  that  a  philosophy  full  of  preconceived  opinions  leads  them  astray. 
The  fact  that  this  Physique  Mensongere,  as  Rdmusat  calls  it,  excludes  all  encroach- 
ments of  the  supernatural,  and  fancies  that  it  interprets  all  phenomena  in  the 
simplest  possible  way,  lends  a  double  vitality  to  the  errors.  Explaining  as  it  does 
everything  by  extension  and  compression,  Chinese  physics  finds  it  easy  to  account 
for  every  phenomenon, — it  is  triumphantly  enthroned  upon  empty  words. 

All  civilized  races  are  also  writing  races  ;  without  writing  is  no  secure  tradition. 
The  firm  historical  ground,  upon  which  a  step  in  advance  may  be  tried,  is  lacking. 
There  is  no  chronicle,  no  monument  of  renown  or  mighty  events  intended  to 
immortalise  the  history  of  the  past,  which  may  spur  to  emulation  and  brave  deeds. 
What  lies  outside  of  the  sacred  tradition  passes  into  oblivion.  Human  memory 
being  limited,  it  is  impossible  but  that  when  the  poems  intended  to  glorify  a  recently 
deceased  Inca  are  learnt,  those  which  were  fashioned  in  praise  of  his  predecessor 
should  be  forgotten.  In  the  schools  of  the  Indian  Brahmins  we  learn  the  import- 
ance which  was  attached  to  getting  by  rote,  and  the  trouble  which  it  cost :  in  them 
the  Vedas  have,  in  spite  of  writing  and  printing,  been  orally  propagated  up  to  the 
present  day.  Every  scholar  has,  in  the  traditional  method,  had  to  learn  the  nine 
hundred  thousand  syllables.     Yet  writing  could  never  be  replaced  by  these  means. 

It  is   impossible  to  give   a   general   view  of  all   the   germs  of  science  among 


SCIENCE  AND  ART 


69 


natural  races.  Much'  is  no  longer  to  be  known,  more  has  disappeared  and  fallen 
to  ruin,  the  amount  possessed  is  very  unequal.  Hitherto  too  low  an  estimate  has 
prevailed.  The  reckoning  of  time  and  astronomy,  both  of  which  come  into  close 
relation  to  men's  needs,  are  indeed  the  most  widely  extended,  just  as  they  also 
stand  far  up  in  the  pedigree  of  our  science.  We  may  point  to  the  star  legends  of 
the  Bushmen,  or  the  observations  of  the  sailors  of  Oceania,  of  which  we  shall  have 
to  speak  later.  A  primitive  astrology  runs  through  the  religion  of  the  natural 
races.  Their  attempts  to  drive  away  eclipses  and  comets  with  all  sorts  of  noises 
point  to  a  feeling  of  discomfort  from  the 
disturbance  of  order  in  the  firmament. 
Falling  stars  denote  the  death  of  some 
great  man,  close  conjunctions  portend 
war. 

All  "  natural  "  races  distinguish  the 
seasons,  not  only  according  to  the  terres- 
trial processes  of  flowering,  ripening,  and 
the  like,  but  also  by  the  position  of  the 
constellations.  But  the  year  is  an  ab- 
straction foreign  to  many,  and  even  if  the 
months  are  distinguished,  their  cycle  does 
not  tally  with  the  year.  The  step  to 
science  is  made  when  sections  of  the  year, 
field  labour  and  such  like,  are  associated 
with  the  apparition  of  particular  con- 
stellations, for  this  assumes  observations. 
Naturally  these  are  carried  out  most 
extensively  and  most  acutely  among  the 
sea-faring  races.  We  find  the  Banks 
Islanders  using  a  special  name,  inasoi,  for  the  planets  on  account  of  their  rounder 
appearance. 

Civilized  races  see  in  poetic  literature  the  highest  achievement  ot  their  great 
intellects,  and  it  is  precisely  in  this  direction  that  the  natural  races  have  risen  highest. 
Hamann  has  called  lyric  poetry  the  mother-tongue  of  humanity.  Among  the 
natural  races  we  scarcely  find  any  but  lyric  poems,  and  these  express  love,  sorrow, 
admiration,  and  religious  sentiments.  Wherever  the  poetry  of  the  natural  races 
has  been  put  into  words  it  is  also  sung,  and  thus  poetry  is  closely  allied  with 
music.  As  in  the  case  of  our  own  poets,  we  find  here  also  words  and  phrases 
which  have  only  been  preserved  in  poetry,  and  unusual  lengthenings  and  shorten- 
ings for  the  sake  of  metre.  In  the  dancing  songs  of  the  Banks  Islanders  obsolete 
words  borrowed  from  neighbouring  islands  form  a  regular  poetic  language  to 
themselves.  There  is  no  lack  of  bold  imagery,  and  a  whole  list  of  artifices  such 
as  repetition,  climax,  abbreviation,  and  artistic  obscurity  come  into  play.  The 
alliance  with  religion  is  always  preserved.  In  Santa  Maria  the  following  song  is 
sung  in  honour  of  a  person  away  at  sea  : — 

"  Leale  ale  ! 
I  am  an  eagle,  I  have  soared  to  the  furthest  dim  horizon. 
I  am  an  eagle,  I  have  flown  and  landed  on  Mota. 
With  whirring  noise  have  I  sailed  round  the  mountain. 


Ornament  on  coco-nut  shell,  from  Isabel  in  the 
Solomon  Islands.      (After  Codrington. ) 


70 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


I  have  gone  down  island  after  island  in  the  West  to  the  base  of  Heaven. 

I  have  sailed,  I  have  seen  the  lands,  I  have  sailed  in  circles. 

An  ill  wind  has  drifted  me  away,  has  drawn  me  away  from  you  two. 

How  shall  I  make  my  way  round  to  you  two .' 

The  sounding  sea  stretches  empty  to  keep  me  away  from  you. 

You  are  ciying,  mother,  for  me,  how  shall  I  see  thy  face  ? 

You  are  crying,  father,  for  me,  " — and  so  on. 

The  last  words  of  the  poem  are  : — 

"  Ask  and  hear  !  who  wrote  i  the  song  of  Marcs  .' 
It  was  the  poet  who  sits  by  the  road  to  Lakona." 

In  the  form  of  this  lyric,  as  given  by  Codrington,  we  see  the  alliance  with 
music.  Choric  and  religious  songs  were  accompanied  by  music, 
and  there  are  sacred  drums  and  trumpets  which  may  only  be 
sounded  by  the  initiated.  The  Tucanos  of  Brazil  use  long 
flutes  to  invoke  the  spirit  Yurupari.  Women  may  not  look 
upon  him  and  conceal  themselves  at  the  sound  of  these  instru- 
ments, which  at  other  times  are  kept  under  water. 

But  there  is  more  than  this  in  poetry.      It  embraces  legends 
which  are  not  merely  fiction  but  contain  in  them  the  whole  intel- 
lectual possession  of  the  race,  history,  customs,  law,  and  religion, 
and  thereby  are  an  important  aid  to  the  preservation  of  know- 
ledge   from    one    generation    to    another.        Many    legends    are 
mythological   fragments   differing   outwardly  from   myth  by  their 
fragmentary    character  and    lack    of    point.       Many    myths    are 
nothing  but  picturesque  descriptions  of  natural  events  and  per- 
sonifications  of  natural  forces.      These  bridge  over   the   interval 
to  science,  for  in  them  mythology  becomes,  like  science,  the  way 
and  the  method  towards  the  knowledge  of  the  causes  of  pheno- 
mena.    The  original  object  falls  into  the  background,  the  images 
become  independent  figures  whose  quarrels  and  tricks  have  an 
interest  of  their  own.     Therewith  we  have  the  fable,  especially 
the  widespread  beast  fable.      Here  the  immediate  operations  of 
Nature  are   indulged   with  a  wider   play.      Just  as    the    sacred 
mountains    and    forests,    the    sacred    sea    and    its    cliffs,    protest 
against  any  denial  of  the  sentiment  of  Nature  among  the  races 
Piece  of  bamboo  with  that  have  HO  literature,  so  do  their  myths  and  hymns  testify  to 
New"He'bHdeT  ^^  '^'^  deep  impression  made  by  Nature.     The  connection  of  many 
(After  Codrington. )    a  little  poem  with  the  song  of  birds  is  obvious.      Light  and  dark- 
ness, day  and  night,  arouse  feelings  of  pleasure  and  discomfort ; 
white,   red,   and  green,  embody   benevolent  natural    forces    and    daemons  ;    black 
those    that    are    dreaded.       Sunrise    and    sunset,   storm,   rainbow,   the    glow    of 
evening,  are   most  adapted   to   find   a   lyric  echo   where   sun  and   fire  are  objects 
of   adoration.       What   light   and   darkness    are   for   the  eye,  sound    and   silence 
are  for  the  ear.      The    rumble   of  thunder,  the  muffled   roar  of  beasts   of    prey, 
contrasted   with   the  clear  ripple  of  the   spring,  the   plash  of  the  waves,  and   the 
song  of  birds.      In  a  series  of  pictures,  copious  though  limited  by  the  constraint  of 
customary  expression,  the  poetry  and  pictorial  art  of  the  natural  races  contrives 

^  Literally  measured. 


SCIENCE  AND  ART  7i 


to  express  this.  On  one  side  of  the  mysterious  Papuan  bull-roarer,  the  object  of 
religious  devotion,  is  depicted  the  resting  moth,  on  the  other  the  whirring  moth : 
what  a  simple  and  impressive  picture  language  ! 

Pictorial  art  has  also,  even  where  it  seems  to  have  passed  entirely  into  a  trade, 
its  connection  with  religion.  The  execution  of  carvings  was  among  the  tasks  of 
holy  men,  who  imported  mythological  ideas  into  all  the  detail.  If  we  look  at  the 
instruments  used  by  a  priest  on  the  Amoor  or  the  Oregon  we  see  the  connection 
between  art  and  religion  as  plainly  as  if  we  entered  a  village  chapel  or  a  Buddhist 
temple.  Polynesia  presents  an  astounding  abundance  of  carved  work  which 
unhappily  with  its  enigmatic  fajicy  is  to  us  a  seven  times  sealed  book.  But  we 
know  that  at  one  time  the  axes  of  Mangaia  in  the  Hervey  Islands  might  only  be 
carved  with  sharks'  teeth,  that  the  openings  were  called  "  eel- borings,"  the  projections 
cliffs,  and  that  the  whole  ornamentation  was  one  mass  of  symbols.     The  clay 


Plaited  hat  of  the  Nootka  Indians   showing  eye-ornament.     (Stockholm  Ethnographical  Museum. ) 

^ 

bowls  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  have  step-shaped  edges,  to  denote  the  steps  by  which 
the  spirit  may  get  into  the  vessel.  The  perpetual  repetitions  of  the  same  little 
figures  are  just  like  the  555  images  of  Buddha  in  the  temple  of  Burubudor  in 
Java,  the  expression  of  inarticulateness  in  religion  and  rigidity  in  art.  The  art  of 
"  natural  "  races  much  prefers  its  elements  to  be  of  small  bulk,  but  from  these  it  puts 
together  the  largest  works.  In  the  squeezed  or  twisted  figures  of  men  or  animals 
piled  one  on  another  in  the  door-posts  of  the  New  Zealanders  or  New  Caledonians, 
or  the  family  pillars  of  the  Indians  of  North-West  America,  no  single  detail  has  a 
chance  of  being  fairly  represented.  No  freedom  is  shown  except  in  their 
decorative  combination.  For  this  reason  out  of  all  the  many  magnificent  works 
executed  in  America,  sculpture  never  succeeded  in  attaining  to  freedom. 
Tradition  was  just  as  depressing  here  as  in  the  much  cruder  work  of  the  West 
African  carvers  of  fetishes,  who  inhabit  a  regular  industrial  village  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Beh  the  sacred  village  of  Togo.  Even  under  the  patterns  of  the 
tapa  of  Oceania,  as  shown  on  our  coloured  plate,  symbols  are  concealed.  Thus, 
as  Bastian  puts  it,  all  decorative  art  appears  to  be  a  system  of  symbols,  preliminary 
to  writing,  and  is  intended  to  convey  a  definite  meaning.  Art,  in  its  efforts  after 
expression,  develops  but  slowly,  and  does  not  emerge  into  full  freedom  until  the 
moment  when  for  its  own  sake  it  has  forgotten  that  purpose.      From  the  symbols, 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


JLL 


simple  masses  and  lines  are  composed,  which  are  coloured,  shaped,  and  arranged 
so  as  to  correspond  with  the  sense  of  beauty.  But  even  then  the  ornament  is 
only  an  idealised  copy  from  Nature,  most  often  from  a  human  face  or  figure. 
From  almost  every  Persian  carpet  there  looks  at  us  at  least  the  one  widely- 
opened  eye,  which  averts  the  evil  eye.      The  decorative  treatment  of  the  face  turns 

up  in   such  abundance  and  in    so    many 
forms    that    it    practically   recurs   in    all 
ornament    above    the    most    elementary. 
The    occurrence    of    "  ocellate "    patterns 
testifies  to  its    presence  where  it  would 
be  least  suspected.      In   the  objects  dis- 
covered at  Ancon  the  most  magnificent 
ornament  is   grouped   about   large    faces 
or   figures  with  very   prominent  faces  as 
centres.       On    the     monolithic     gate    of 
Tiahuanuco  are  human  figures,  arbitrarily 
conventionalised,  and  composed  of  similar 
but  smaller  figures.    Attentive  comparison 
seems  at  last  to  justify  us  in  rediscovering 
the   human   form   in    almost  every  orna- 
ment   and    every    grotesque    of   ancient 
America.      But  it  is  striking  to  see  how 
much  the  subjects  of  primitive  art  differ. 
Australians  rarely  make  any  representa- 
tions of  the  human  figure  ;  and  they  are 
very    rare    in    East    and    South    Africa. 
Livingstone  makes  his  reflections  on  the 
fact   that   idols   do   not    become  frequent 
until   north  of  the   Makololo  ;    while  on 
the  Upper  Nile,  in  West  Africa  on  the 
Congo,  in    Guinea,   they  occur  in    great 
number.      These   images  were  also  used 
for  secular  purposes.    May  not  the  Kioko 
clubs,   carved    with    human    heads,  have 
been  originally  idols,  carried   in  the  hand 
instead   of   being    stuck   in    the   ground  ? 
What  we  regard  as  the  work  of  a  sportive 
whim,  those  gnarled   birch-roots  often  of 
very  curious   forms,  which   the  Chinese  convert   into  human   figures  with  one  or 
two   cuts   and   dots,   carry  us   back   to  the  widespread   tendency  to   see  in    such 
freaks  of  Nature  more  than  chance,  something  indeed  which  may  be  of  mysterious 
service  in  magic  or  medicine. 

In  art  we  find  once  more  the  bias  of  religion  towards  universal  animation. 
An  element  at  the  base  of  all  primitive  art  is  the  close  alliance  of  men  and 
animals  in  the  ornament.  This  corresponds  to  the  religious  view  which  dreads  or 
reveres  a  human  soul  in  every  beast.  Accordingly  in  the  richest  store  of 
conventional  sculpture  which  we  possess,  that  of  the  ancient  Americans,  human 
faces  and   figures,  most  frequently  eyes,  occur   in   the  greatest   abundance.      Next 


Carved  clubs  from  Lunda.      (Buchner  collection  in 
the  Munich  Ethnographical  Museum.) 


SCIENCE  AND  ART 


73 


to  them  come  animal  figures,  feathers,  ribbons  ;  parts  of  plants  very  seldom. 
W.  Reiss  draws  special  attention  to  a  Peruvian  robe  of  state  exhibited  some  years 
ago  in  Madrid,  for  the  very  reason  that  its  ornament,  contrary  to  the  usual  rule,  is 
taken  from  plant  forms.  Feathers,  tortoises,  lizards,  crocodiles,  frogs,  snakes  are 
represented  with  remarkable  fidelity.  The  sun-bird  with  outspread  wings  is  »a 
favourite  symbol  and  theme  for  ornament  from  Egypt  to 
Japan  and  Peru  ;  the  portal  of  Ocosingo  shows  a  typical 
development  of  it.  Grotesques  of  men  and  beasts,  dis- 
torted and  involved  out  of  all  knowledge,  such  as  even 
the  Maya  writing  displays,  are  often  drawn  with  great 
skill  and  boldness  of  caricature.  The  often-quoted  ele- 
phants' trunks  on  monuments  at  Uxmal,  and  on  golden 
figures  of  men,  may  be  explained  either  by  the  tapir's 
snout,  or  a  comic  elongation  of  the  human  feature. 
Death's  heads  are  among  the  most  widespread  subjects  ; 
hewn  in  stone  they  form  long  friezes,  and  adorn  the 
approach  to  temples  at  Copan  and  elsewhere.  A  corre- 
sponding case  is  when  the  temple  gapes  upon  the 
beholder  with  a  door  shaped  like  a  serpent's  jaws,  or, 
as  in  a  house  at  Palenque,  the  whole  front  forms  a 
horrible  monster,  whose  mouth  is  the  wide  doorway,  and 
the  bars  of  the  sculptured  lintel  his  teeth. 

If  amid  this  abundance  of  images  there  comes  to  light 
so   little  of  any  importance  that,  in   countries  where  the 


Tobacco-pipe  carved  out  of  slate,  from  Queen  Charlotte  Islands, 
British  Columbia.      (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology. ) 


New  Zealand  tobacco- 
pipe.  (Christy  Col- 
lection. ) 


climate  made  it  much  easier  to  go  without  clothes  than  in  Greece,  the  representa- 
tion of  the  naked  human  body  was  scarcely  attempted,  this  can  only  be  explained 
by  the  religious  fetters  in  which  art  was  bound.  Almost  everything  is  clothed,  the 
faces  tattooed  or  covered  with  a  ceremonial  mask.  In  these  external  points,  so 
unimportant  for  us,  the  Mexican  or  Peruvian  artist  put  his  whole  strength.  He 
represented  beautifully  the  feather  robes,  the  ribbon  ornament ;  his  death's  head 
or  his  frog  is  true  to  nature,  but  almost  every  human  figure,  on  the  contrary, 
childishly  crude  and  disproportioned.  The  exceptions  to  this  are  rare.  When 
do  we  find  even  a  living  nose  or  a  speaking  mouth?  The  wide  distinction 
between  the  highest  point  reached  by  barbaric  art  and  the  Egyptian  art  from 
which    the    Greek    and    all    faithful    imitation    of    Nature    started,    lies    in    the 


74 


THE   HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


fact  that  the  former  made  no  effort  to  represent  the  human  form  as  such,  but 
smothered  it  in  wrappings  and  Symbols.  When  we  consider  the  stiffly  designed 
figures  of  the  Egyptians,  we  get  the  impression  that  they  were  on  the  road  to 
become  great  sculptors  ;  indeed,  in  some  works  they  already  came  near  to  it. 
The  Mexicans,  Peruvians,  Indians,  were  upon  quite  another  road,  which  led  them 

far  from  this  ideal.  While  the 
highest  aim  of  sculpture  is  to  be 
sought  in  the  representation  of  the 
human  body,  the  essence  of  their 
carved  work  consists  in  neglect  of 
the  body  and  disproportionate  em- 
phasis on  accessories.  Only  in  the 
technique  of  arabesques  could  they 
attain  to  anything  of  importance, 
but  that  led  them  into  a  blind  alley, 
craftsmanship  instead  of  art. 

In  what  are  nowadays  called 
the  industrial  arts,  the  restraint  was 
far  less  ;  here  we  do  find  faultless 
performances.  A  Peruvian  vase 
of  red  earthenware  ;  a  beautifully 
polished,  perfectly  symmetrical,  bow 
from  Guiana ;  a  steel  axe  inlaid 
with  copper  or  brass  from  Kassai- 
land  ;  a  spoon  carved  by  Kaffirs  in 
the  shape  of  a  giraffe  ;  a  club  or 
feather  helmet  from  Oceania,  are 
creations  perfect  in  themselves. 
These  are  things  upon  which  the 
highest  art  of  the  west  could  not 
improve.  In  plaiting,  the  industry 
of  the  natural  races  produces  better 
work,  both  technically  and  artistic- 
ally, than  the  civilized  races  could 
show.  With  the  support  of  its 
close  ally,  embroidery,  the  applique^ 
method  prevails  in  the  ornamenta- 
tion of  work  in  leather  and  cotton 
stuffs  throughout  North  and  West  Africa,  and  to  some  extent  also  in  North 
America.  The  scale  of  colour  is  frequently  not  great,  but  the  sense  for  colour 
is  well  cultivated.  West  Africans,  especially  Houssas,  often  show  more  taste 
in  choosing  the  colours  of  their  clothing.  They  pre-eminently  avoid  calicoes  of 
many  colours,  the  evidences  of  machine  industry  which  art  has  deserted.  It  is 
precisely  in  the  matter  of  colour  that  the  characteristic  of  a  geographical  region 
often  lies.  The  hard  red,  white,  and.  black,  is  typical  of  New  Britain  and  the 
surrounding  parts.  One  of  the  districts  richest  in  colour  is  North- West  America, 
which  makes  the  contrast  all  the  more  striking  as  we  pass  from  the  Alaskan  region 
to  the   Magemuts  and  Kuskwogmuts,  whose  flat  round  masks,  with  their  crowns 


Ornamental  goblet  from  West  Africa.      ( British  Museum. ) 


SCIENCE  AND  ART 


of  leathers,  are  coloured  white,  gray,  and  dingy  brown.  One  seems  to  have  come 
back  from  a  spnng  meadow  of  many  colours  into  winter.  The  pegs  of  green 
stone  m  their  lips,  the  dark  brown  wooden  dishes  inlaid  with  white  bone,  the  thin 
strings  of  pearls  twined  round  ears  and  lips,  do  not  give  a  very  strong  colouring 
to  the  snowy  landscape. 

Many  as  are  the  directions  in  which  style  varies,  the  degrees  of  development 
are  yet  more  various.      In  originality,  fineness,  and  richness,  nothing  can  touch  the 
work  of  some  of  the  Pacific  races,  especially  the  North-West  Americans  and  their 
neighbours  farther  north.     Also  some  groups  in  Oceania,  especially  the  Maoris  • 
we  say  nothing  here  about  the  still  higher  Peruvians.     The  richness  of  Polynesian 
work  IS  astonishing,  in  spite  of  their  limited  materials— shells,  coco-nut  shells, 
a  little  wood  and  stone.      In  these  laborious  combinations  of  small  things,  there  is 
far  more  labour  than  in  most  of  the  African  objects,  which  betray  more  talent  than 
industry.     The  Africans  and  Malays,  who  are  provided  with  iron  and  other  things 
from  Asia,  achieve  less  in  proportion  than  the  isolated  Eskimo.     The  position  of 
Japan,  with  its  wealth  of 
most    successful    imita- 
tions      from       Nature, 
seems  less  strange  when 
we   consider    the   num- 
ber    and     the     careful 
execution  of  human  and 
animal    figures    among 
the  tribes  of  the  Pacific. 
Whereas    the    Moorish 
Arabic        style        runs 
throughout   Africa,   the 
Indian    style    through    Malaysia,    all    the    inhabitants    of    the    North    Pacific    are 
allied  by  similarity  of  style  with  Japan.      Australia  and  South  America,  excepting 
Peru,    stand    apart    as    less    fertile    but   original    territories.       Materials,   too,    are 
unequally  apportioned    and    used.       The  African   works  in    iron    and   ivory,  and 
leather  or  hide  ;    the   Australian  in   wood  or   stone ;    the  man  of  the  far  north 
in  walrus   tusk.       The  Polynesian  produces  his    best   results   working   in    stone 
and  shells  ;  some  American  tribes  surpass   all   others   in  pottery.      The  reaction 
of  the   material    upon    the  art,   however,  is    often    over-estimated.       The   patient 
hand    of   the    ancient  Mexican    shaped   the   most   artistic    works    in    the    most 
refractory  stone,  such  as  obsidian.      The  material   is  of  only  small   importance  in 
regard  to  the  degree  to  which  arts  and  crafts  are  developed  among  the  natural 
races.      Australia,  with  its  wealth  of  timber,  produces  less  in  the  way  of  woodwork 
than    some    small   island   which   possesses  nothing  but  coco -nut.      The  material 
often  gives  its  direction  to  the  technique,  but  does  not  determine  it.      Similarly  it 
imparts  faint  shades  of  colour,  but  the  human  intellect  and  will  is  at  the  root  of  the 
matter.      The  achievements  of  the  Africans  in  iron,  to  some  extent  combined  with 
copper  and  brass,  are  pre-eminent.     They  avail  themselves  with  naive  acuteness 
and  taste  of  the  special  properties  of  the  material.     But  none  of  their  performances 
excels    the  perfection  of   a  beautifully  polished    and  perforated  stone  hammer. 
Everything  which  they  produce  lacks  the  fine  beauty  of  perfect  finish,  and  more 
especially  proportion.     A  nation's  sports  are  a  valuable  evidence  of  its  mode  of 


Chains  made  of  walrus-teeth,  from  Aleutia.      (City  Museum,-  Frankfort  O.  M. ) 


76 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


life  and  view  of  life.  Many  gain  a  special  interest  from  the  fact  of  their  having 
spread  with  scarcely  perceptible  variations  over  very  wide  regions.  Any  one  who 
knows  the  multitude  of  the  games  in  which,  among  simple  races,  children  and 
adults  take  part  with  ever  fresh  pleasure,  and  considers  the  simplicity  of  many  of 
them,  cannot  but  remark  that  in  the  life  of  these  races  there  is  an  element  reminis- 
cent of  childhood  in  the  careless  squandering  of  time,  and  the  limited  demands 
made  on  life.  In  the  small  area  of  the  Solomon  Islands  and  Northern  New 
Hebrides,  including  the  Banks  Islands,  we  find  hide  and  seek,  prisoner's  base,  foot- 
ball, stump  and  ball,  games  akin  to  morra,  hoops,  exercises  in  spear-throwing  and 
archery.  When  the  harvest  has  been  reaped,  they  fly  kites  ;  and  in  connection 
with  the  yam  harvest  the  game  of  tika  is  eagerly  played  between  contending 
villages.  On  moonlight  nights,  the  villagers  go  round  the  circle  of  gossips,  hidden 
behind  a  screen,  and  making  their  friends  guess  at  their  identity. 


§  8.   INVENTION    AND    DISCOVERY 

Essential  characters  of  invention — Primitive  science — Finding  and  retaining — Difficulty  of  a  tradition  in  the 
lower  stages — How  inventions  get  forgotten — Pottery  in  Polynesia — Importance  of  individual  inventions  in 
primitive  conditions — 7a/a^Obscure  derivation  of  such  culture  as  is  possessed  by  "natural"  races — 
Examples  of  imitation  and  other  correspondences — No  race  is  whoU)'  without  external  relations — Ethno- 
graphic poverty  and  impoverishment — Distinctions  of  degree  in  evolution — Monbuttus — Curious  cases  of 
special  development — Kingsmill  Islands — Difficulty  of  determining  relative  degrees  of  culture. 

The  material    progress    of    mankind   rests  upon   an  ever-ideepening   and  widening 
study  of  natural   phenomena,  from  which   results  a  corresponding   increase   in   the 


Kaffir  fire-sticks,  for  producing  fire  by  friction.      One-fourth  real  size.      (Museum  of  the  Berlin  Mission.) 

wealth  of  means  at  a  man's  disposal  /or  his  own  emancipation,  and  for  the 
improvement  and  embellishment  of  his  life.  The  discovery  how  to  make  fire  by 
friction  was  an  act  of  the  intellect  which  in  its  own  degree  demanded  as  much 
thinking  power  as  the  invention  of  the  steam-engine.  The  inventor  of  the  bow  or 
the  harpoon  must  have  been  a  genius,  whether  his  contemporaries  thought  him  one 
or  not.  And  then  as  now,  whatever  intellectual  gains  were  due  to  natural  sugges- 
tions must  have  grown  up  in  the  individual  intellect,  in  order,  when  circumstances 
were  favourable,  to  make  its  way  to  the  minds  of  several  or  riiany  persons.  Only 
suggestions  of  a  lower,  less  developed  kind,  such  as  we  may  call  quite  Generally 
tones  of  mind,  appear  like  epidemics  in  many  simultaneously,  and  are  capable  as 
it  were  of  giving  their  tone  to  the  mental  physiognomy  of  a  race.      Intellectual 


INVENTION  AND  DISCOVERY  77 


games  are  individual  achievements,  and  the  history  of  even  the  simplest  discovery 
is  a  fragment  of  the  intellectual  history  of  mankind. 

When  primitive  man  was  brought  naked  into  the  world,  Nature  came  to  meet 
him  in  two  ways.  She  gave  him  the  materials  of  food,  clothing,  weapons,  and  so 
forth,  and  offered  him  suggestions  as  to  the  most  suitable  methods  of  turning  them 
to  account.  It  is  with  these  suggestions  that  we  have  now  to  concern  ourselves. 
In  invention,  as  in  all  that  is  spiritual  in  man,  the  external  world,  mirrored  in  his 
soul,  plays  a  part.  We  cannot  doubt  that  much  has  been  taken  from  it.  The 
agreement  between  type  and  copy  seems  very  close  when  we  find  the  tail  of  a 
gnu  or  eland  used  by  the  Bushmen  of  South  Africa,  just  as  it  was  by  its  first 
owner,  to  keep  off  the  flies  of  that  fly-abounding  region  ;  or  when  Peter  Kolb 
relates  how  the  Hottentots  look  only  for  such  roots  and  tubers  as  are  eaten  by 
the  baboons  and  other  animals.  When  we  come  to  consider  the  evolution  of 
agriculture,  we  shall  discover  many  other  cases  of  similar  suggestions  ;  justifying 
us  in  the  reflection  that  in  the  lower  stages  of  culture  man  is  nearer  to  the  beast, 
learns  from  it  more  easily,  and,  similarly,  has  a  larger  share  of  brute -instinct. 
Other  discoveries  go  back  to  the  earliest  observations  of  the  sequence  of  cause 
and  effect ;  and  with  the  course  of  discovery  the  beginnings  of  science  also  reach 
back  to  the  earliest  ages  of  mankind.  Some  natural  occurrence  strikes  a  man  ; 
he  wishes  to  see  it  repeated,  and  is  thus  compelled  to  put  his  own  hand  to  it. 
Thus  he  is  led  to  inquire  into  the  particulars  of  the  occurrence  and  its  causes. 

But  it  is  the  individual  alone  who,  in  the  first  instance,  makes  the  discovery 
and  profits  by  it.  More  is  required  if  it  is  to  become  an  addition  to  the  store  of 
culture  such  as  the  history  of  culture  can  take  into  account.  For  the  mode  in 
which  the  acquisitions  of  the  intellect  are  amassed  is  twofold.  First,  we  have  the 
concentrated  creative  force  of  the  individual  genius,  which  brings  one  possession 
after  another  into  the  treasury  of  mankind  ;  and  secondly,  the  diffusion  of  these 
among  the  masses,  which  is  a  preliminary  condition  of  their  preservation.  The 
discovery  which  the  individual  keeps  to  himself  dies  with  him  ;  it  can  survive 
only  if  handed  down.  The  degree  of  vitality  possessed  by  discoveries  depends, 
therefore,  upon  the  force  of  tradition  ;  and  this  again  upon  the  internal  organic 
interdependence  of  the  generations.  Since  this  is  strongest  in  those  classes  who 
either  have  leisure  or  are  led  by  their  calling  to  attend  to  intellectual  matters, 
even  in  their  most  primitive  form,  the  force  which  tends  to  preserve  what  the 
intellect  has  won  is  also  dependent  on  the  social  organisation.  And  lastly,  since 
a  store  of  intellectual  possession  has  a  stimulating  effect  upon  creative  minds, 
which  would  otherwise  be  condemned  to  be  always  beginning  anew,  everything 
which  strengthens  the  force  of  tradition  in  a  race  will  have  a  favourable  effect 
upon  the  further  development  of  its  store  of  ideas,  discoveries,  inventions.  Those 
natural  conditions,  therefore,  may  be  regarded  as  indirectly  most  especially 
favourable  to  intellectual  development,  which  affect  the  density  of  the  whole 
population,  the  productive  activity  of  individuals,  and  therewith  the  enrichment 
of  the  community.  But  the  wide  extension  of  a  race  and  abundant  possibilities 
of  commerce  are  also  operative  in  this  direction.  If  we  consider,  not  finding  only, 
but  the  preservation  of  what  has  been  found — by  diffusion  through  a  wide  sphere 
and  incorporation  with  the  permanent  stock  of  culture, — is  essential  to  invention, 
we  shall  comprehend  that  this  element  of  invention,  so  important  for  progress, 
will  not  attain  an  equally  effective  character  in  all  stages  of  civilization.     Every- 


78 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


thing  tends  to  limit  its 
effectiveness  in  the  lower 
stages,  for  the  lower  we 
go  in  civilization,  the  less 
is  the  interdependence  of 
men  kept  up ;  and  for 
this  reason  the  progress 
of  culture  in  the  other 
direction  acquires  an  ac- 
celerated pace. 

How  many  inventions 
of  men  may  have  been 
lost  in  the  long  ages  be- 
fore great  communities 
were  formed  !  Even  to- 
day how  many  do  we  see 
fallen  with  their  inventors 
into  oblivion,  or,  in  the 
most  favourable  case, 
laboriously  dug  up  again 
and  so  preserved  ?  And 
who  can  measure  the 
inertia  of  the  stubborn 
opposition  which  stands  in 
the  way  of  the  birth  of 
new  ideas  ?  We  may 
remember  Cook's  descrip- 
tion of  the  New  Zealanders 
in  the  report  of  his  second 
voyage  :  "  The  New  Zea- 
landers seem  perfectly 
content  with  the  scraps  of 
knowledge  which  they 
possess,  without  showing 
the  least  impulse  to  im- 
prove upon  them.  Nor 
do  they  show  any  parti- 
cular curiosity  either  in 
their  questions  or  their 
remarks.  Novelties  do 
not  surprise  them  as  much 
as  one  would  expect ;  nay, 
they  do  not  hold  their 
attention  for  an  instant." 
We  know  now  that  on 
the  remote  Easter  Island 
writing,  the  most  important  of  inventions,  was  generally  known, 
have  died  out  there  without  leaving  any  offspring. 


It  seems  to 


INVENTION  AND  DISCOVERY  T) 


What  a  vista  of  eternally  futile  starts  opens  when  we  think  of  this  mental 
immobility  and  this  lack  of  quickening  interdependence !  We  get  a  feeling  that 
all  the  sweat  which  the  struggle  after  new  improvements  has  cost  our  age  of 
inventions  is. but  a  drop  in  the  ocean  of  labours  wherein  the  inventors  of  primitive 
times  were  submerged.  The  germ  of  civilization  will  not  grow  in  every  soil. 
The  bulk  of  civilized  methods  which  a  race  is  capable  of  assimilating  is  in  direct 
proportion  to  its,  average  of  civilization.  Anything  that  is  offered  to  it  beyond 
this  is  only  received  externally,  and  remains  of  no  importance  to  the  life  of  the 
race,  passing  as  time  goes  on  into  oblivion  or  rigidity.  To  this  must  be  referred 
the  ethnographical  poverty  found  in  the  lower  strata  of  ethnographically  richer 
races. 

If  we  draw  conclusions  from  certain  acquisitions  of  culture  which  may  be  found 
among  a  people,  such  as  garden  plants,  domestic  animals,  implements,  and  the 
like,  to  its  contact  with  some  other  people,  we  may  easily  forget  this  simple  but 
important  circumstance.  Many  institutions  among  the  inhabitants  of  our  mountains 
fail  to  betray  the  fact  that  they  have  lived  for  ages  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  high 
civilization;  the  Bushmen  have  appropriated  astonishingly  little  of  the  more  copious 
store  of  weapons,  implements,  dexterity,  possessed  by  the  Bechuanas.  On  the 
one  side  the  stock  of  culture  progresses,  on  the  other  it  retrogrades  or  stands  still, 
a  condition  into  which  a  movement,  evidently  in  its  nature  not  strong,  easily  passes. 
This  is  an  instructive  phenomenon,  and  a  comparison  of  various  degrees  of  this 
stationariness  is  specially  attractive.  Any  one  who  starts  with  the  view  that  pottery 
is  a  very  primitive  invention,  less  remote  than  almost  any  other  from  the  natural 
man,  will  note  with  astonishment,  not .  in  Australia  only  but  in  Polynesia,  how  a 
talented  race,  in  the  face  of  needs  by  no  means  inconsiderable,  manages  to  get 
along  without  that  art.  And  when  he  finds  it  in  existence  only  in  Tonga  and 
the  small  Easter  Island  at  the  extreme  eastern  limit  of  Polynesia,  he  will  be  apt 
to  think  how  much  more  the  intercourse  between  lands  and  islands  has  contributed 
to  the  enrichment  of  men's  stock  of  culture  than  has  independent  invention.  But 
that  even  here  again  intercourse  is  very  capricious,  we  learn  from  the  absence  of 
this  art  among  the  Assiniboines  of  North  America,  next  door  to  the  Mandans, 
who  excel  in  it.  Here  we  learn  that  inventions  do  not  spread  like  a  prairie-fire, 
but  that  human  will  takes  a  hand  in  the  game  which,  not  without  caprice, 
indolently  declines  some  things  and  all  the  more  readily  accepts  others.  The 
tendency  to  stand  still  at  a  stage  that  has  been  once  reached  is  greater  in 
proportion  as  the  average  of  civilization  is  lower.  You  do  just  what  is  enough  and 
no  more.  Just  because  the  Polynesians  were  able  to  heat  water  by  putting  red' 
hot  stones  into  it,  they  would  never  have  proceeded  to  pottery  without  foreign  aid. 
We  must  beware  of  thinking  even  simple  inventions  necessary.  It  seems  far  more 
correct  to  credit  the  intellect  of  "  natural "  races  with  great  sterility  in  all  that  does 
not  touch  the  most  immediate  objects  of  life.  Migrations  may  also  have  given 
occasion  for  sundry  losses,  since  the  raw  material  often  occurs  only  in  limited 
quantity,  and  every  great  migration  causes  a  rift  in  tradition.  Tapa  plays  an  im- 
portant part  among  the  Polynesians,  but  the  Maoris  lost  the  art  of  its  manufacture. 
In  these  lower  stages  of  civilization  the  whole  social  life  is  much  more  dependent 
upon  the  rise  than  upon  the  loss  of  some  simple  invention  than  is  the  case  in  the 
higher.  The  nearer  life  stands  to  Nature,  the  thinner  the  layer  of  culture  in  which 
it  is  rooted,  the  shorter  the  fibres  which  it  strikes  down  to  the  natural  soil,  the 


8o  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

more  comprehensive,  the  further-reaching  every  change  in  that  soil  naturally  is. 
The  invention  of  the  way  to  manufacture  clothing,  whether  in  the  form  of  woven 
stuffs  or  of  beaten  bark,  is  surely  natural  and  yet  rich  in  results.  The  entire 
refinement  of  existence  among  the  natural  races  of  Polynesia,  resting  upon  clean- 
liness and  modesty,  and  sufficient  by  itself  to  give  them  a  high  place,  is 
inconceivable  without  the  inconspicuous  material  known  as  tapa.  Bark  is  con- 
verted into  a  stuff  for  clothing,  which  provides  not  only  a  plentiful  covering 
for  the  body  but  also  a  certain  luxury  in  the  frequent  change  it  allows,  a 
certain  taste  in  wearing  and  in  the  selection  of  colours  and  patterns,  and,  lastly, 
a  means  of  amassing  capital  by  preserving  stores  of  this  material  which  are  always 
convertible.  Think,  on  the  other  hand,  of  an  Eskimo's  skin  coat  or  a  Negress's 
leather  apron,  which  are  worn  through  successive  generations  and  laden  with  the 
dirt  of  them.  Tapa,  a  material  which  can  be  provided  in  quantities  without  much 
trouble,  naturally  represses  the  weaver's  art,  which  can  only  have  proceeded  by  a 
long  and  toilsome  road  from  plaiting.  In  the  lake-dwellings  there  are  products 
which,  with  equal  justice,  are  referred  to  both  one  and  the  other  form  of  work. 
This  suggests  the  relations  between  basket-weaving  and  pottery  ;  large  earthen- 
ware vessels  were  made  by  covering  baskets  with  clay.  There  is  no  need  on  this 
account,  with  William  H.  Holmes,  to  call  the  whole  art  of  pottery,  as  contrasted 
with  plaiting,  a  "  servile  art,"  but  this  outgrowth  is  instructive. 

The  fact  that  the  most  necessary  kinds  of  knowledge  and  dexterity  are  spread 
throughout  mankind,  so  that  the  total  impression  of  the  stock  of  culture  possessed 
by  the  "  natural "  races  is  one  of  a  fundamental  uniformity,  gives  rise  to  a  further 
feeling  that  this  scanty  stock  is  only  the  remains  of  a  larger  total  of  possessions 
from  which  all  that  was  not  absolutely  necessary  has  gradually  dropped  out. 
Or  can  we  suppose  that  the  art  of  producing  fire  by  friction  made  its  way  all 
alone  through  the  world,  or  the  art  of  making  bows  and  arrows  ?  To  discuss 
these  questions  is  important,  not  only  in  order  to  estimate  the  measure  of  the 
inventive  talent  possessed  by  natural  races,  but  also  to  obtain  the  right  perspective 
for  the  history  of  primitive  humanity,  for  it  must  be  possible  to  read  in  the  stock 
of  culture,  if  anywhere,  from  what  elements  and  by  what  ways  mankind  of  to-day 
has  become  what  it  is.  Now  if  we  pass  in  review  what  is  possessed  by  the  natural 
races  in  artifices,  implements,  weapons,  and  so  on,  and  deduct  what  is  and  has 
been  imported,  in  some  cases  already  to  a  large  extent,  by  means  of  trade  with 
modern  civilized  races,  we  are  inclined  to  form  a  high  conception  of  their  inventive 
talent.  But  what  guarantee  have  we  of  the  independent  discovery  of  all  these 
things  ?  Undoubtedly  before  there  were  any  relations  with  Europeans,  relations 
existed  with  other  races  which  reached  down  to  these  lower  strata,  and  thus 
many  a  crumb  must  have  fallen  here  from  the  richly  spread  tables  of  the  old 
civilizations  of  Egypt,  Mesopotamia,  India,  China,  and  Japan,  and  has  continued 
here  in  a  mutilated  shape  perhaps  quite  alien  to  the  original  uses  served  by  it. 
The  ethnographer  knows  cases  enough  of  such  borrowings ;  every  single  race 
shows  examples  of  them.  Nor  is  the  examination  of  their  nature  and  significance 
anything  new.  We  may  specially  recall  an  original  remark  of  Livingstone's 
which,  though  made  with  another  intention,  is  fairly  applicable  here :  "  The 
existence  of  various  implements  which  are  in  use  among  the  Africans  and  other 
partially  civilized  races,  points  to  the  communication  of  an  instruction  which 
must  have  proceeded  at  some  time  or  another  from  a  superhuman  being."     Think 


INVENTION  AND  DISCOVERY 


as  we  may  about  the  conclusion  of  this  remark,  its  main  point  is  fully  justified  as 
a  contradiction  of  the  widespread  assumption  that  everything  which  natural  races 
have  to  show  of  their  own  came  into  existence  in  the  place  where  it  is  now  seen, 
and  was  invented  by  those  races  themselves.  When  we  find  all  races  in  Africa, 
from  Moors  to  Hottentots,  producing  and  working  iron  ^fter  one  and  the  same 
method,  it  is  far  more  probable  that  this  art  reached  them  all  from  a  common 
source  than  that  it  was  independently  discovered  in  all  parts  alike.  At  one  time 
people  pointed  triumphantly  to  the  turkey  as  an  animal  which  had  been  inde- 
pendently domesticated  by  barbarous  races,  until  Spencer  Baird  discovered  in 
Mexico  the  ancestor  of  this  ill-tempered  sovereign  of  the  poultry-yard.  In  the 
matter  of  utensils,  borrowing  from  civilization  is  naturally  more  difficult  to  prove, 
since  these  do  not,  like  plants  and  animals,  bear  about  them,  however  obliterated, 
the  marks  of  their  origin.  But  may  not  the  Indian,  who  got  his  maize  from 
Mexico,  have  learnt  from  the  same  quarter  the  art  of  his  delicate  stone-work  ? 
Such  introduction,  together  with  its  consequence  of  the  widest  possible  propagation, 
must  seem  to  us  more  natural  than  the  independent  invention  of  one  and  the 
same  utensil,  or  one  and  the  same  touch  of  art  in  a  dozen  different  places.  Atten- 
tion has  been  quite  recently  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Solomon  Islanders  have 
bows  and  arrows,  while  the  inhabitants  of  New  Ireland  and  others  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood have  not,  and  people  were  quite  ready  to  credit  the  former  with  the 
invention  of  this  ingenious  weapon.  As  has  been  already  pointed  out,  people 
are,  in  this  matter,  wonderfully  inconsistent.  On  the  one  hand  the  natural  races 
are  put  down  to  the  level  of  the  brute,  on  the  other  hand  inventions  are  ascribed 
to  them  which  are,  at  least,  not  of  an  easy  kind.  One  is  always  too  apt  to  think 
of  invention  as  easy,  considering  only  the  difficulties  of  finding  out,  which  for  a 
brain  of  genius  are  small  ;  but  it  is  otherwise  with  the  retaining  of  what  has  been 
found  out.  In  some  cases  it  has  been  possible  to  penetrate  down  to  the  more  remote 
origin  of  apparently  quite  spontaneous  productions  of  "  natural  "  races.  Bastian 
has  compiled  a  list  of  cases  in  which  certain  elements  of  European  civilization 
have  been  formally  imitated  ;  a  good  instance  being  the  characteristic  Fijian  form 
of  club  copied  from  a  musket  of  the  last  century.  The  savages  thought  they  would 
have  the  dreaded  weapon  at  least  in  wood,  and  produced  a  club  remarkably  ill- 
adapted  to  its  proper  purpose.  A,  head-dress  used  in  the  New  Hebrides  is  a 
colossal  exaggeration  of  an  admiral's  cocked -hat.  The  remarkable  cross-bow 
used  by  the  Fans  is  more  to  the  purpose.  It  reached  the  Fans  of  the  interior  from 
the  Portuguese  discoverers  on  the  west  coast,  and  they  retained  the  pattern,  while 
on  the  coast  firearms  came  into  use,  as  in  Europe.  Now,  after  four  hundred  years, 
the  cross-bow  turns  up  again  ;  but  as  the  Fans  have  neither  the  patience  nor  the 
tools  to  fashion  a  lock,  they  slit  the  stock,  and  use  the  cross-bow  to  shoot  little 
poisoned  arrows  which  might  just  as  well  be  shot  from  a  light  long-bow. 

If  it  were  less  difficult  to  seize  the  manifestations  of  intellectual  life  among 
the  lower  races,  we  should  be  able  to  gather  a  much  richer  harvest  among  them. 
Indian  traces  run  through  the  religion  of  the  Malays,  and  extend  perhaps  to 
Melanesia  and  Polynesia.  We  find  such  striking  similarities,  especially  in  the 
cosmogonic  legends  of  Bushmen  and  Australians,  Polynesians,  and  North  Americans, 
that  nothing  but  tradition  is  left  to  explain  them.  So  in  the  domain  of  politics 
we  find  points  of  accord.  The  institutions  of.  Kazembe's  country,  as  described  by 
Lacerda  and  Livingstone,  or  Muata  Jamvo's,  as  reported  by  Pogge  and  Buchner, 

G 


82 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


remind  us  partly  of  India,  partly  of  ancient  Egypt.  In  the  domain  of  social  and 
political  conceptions  and  institutions,  the  coincidences  are  striking.  The  deeper 
we  search  into  these  matters,  the  more  convinced  we  are  of  the  correctness  of  an 
expression  used  by  Bastian  at  a  date  when  the  sharp  division  of  races  was  a 
gospel,  and  the  unity  of  mankind  was  scouted.  In  his  Journey  to  San  Salvador 
he  says  :  "  Even  to  the  islands  slumbering  on  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific,  ocean- 
currents  seem  to  have  driven  the  message  of  the  more  abstract  triumphs  of 
civilization  ;  perhaps  even  to  the  shores  of  the  American  continent."  We  may 
be  permitted  to  add  the  conclusion  that  no  one  understands  the  natural  races 
who  does  not  make  due  allowance  for  their  intercourse  and  connection,  often  dis- 
guised as  it  is,  with  each  other,  and  with  civilized  peoples.  There  is,  and  always 
has  been,  more  intercourse  between  them  than  one  would  suppose  from  a  super- 
ficial observation.  Thus,  long  before  the  Nile  route  was  opened 
to  traffic,  wares  of  European  origin,  especially  pearls,  made  their 
way  from  Darfour  by  Hofrat  el  Nahas,  even  to  the  Azandeh. 
Where  strong  resemblances  occur,  the  question  of  intercourse,  of 
communication  from  abroad,  should  always  be  raised  in  the  first 
instance  ;  in  many  cases  possibly  that  of  very  direct  intercourse. 
We  think  that  we  are  quite  justified  in  asking  whether  it  is  not 
by  fugitive  slaves  that  so  many  elements  of  African  civilization 
have  been  spread  through  South  America.  For  centuries  the 
Japanese  have  had  very  little  intercourse  with  the  races  of  the 
North  Pacific  ;  yet  it  may  be  that  we  ought  to  refer  to  some 
such  intercourse  as  this  (which,  in  truth,  not  only  enlarges,  but, 
as  time  goes  on,  always  tends  to  decompose)  the  wicker  armour 
worn  by  the  Chukchis,  so  like  Japanese  armour.  Thus,  however, 
races  formerly  depended  on  each  other ;  and  no  more  than  at 
present  was  there  ever  on  this  earth,  so  far  as  our  historical  know- 
ledge shows,  a  group  of  men  who  could  be  said  to  be  devoid  of 
relations  with  others.  Everywhere  we  see  agreements,  similarities, 
affinities,  radiating  out  till  they  form  a  close  network  over  the 
earth  ;  even  the  most  remote  islanders  can  only  be  understood 
when  we  take  into  account  their  neighbours,  far  and  near. 

These  most  remote  islands,  too,  show  how  indigenous  industries  always 
dwindle  where  European  or  American  manufactures  come.  When  Hamilton 
visited  Car  Nicobar  in  1790,  the  women  wore  a  kind  of  short  petticoat,  made  of 
tufts  of  grass  or  rushes  strung  in  a  row,  which  simply  hung  down  ;  now  they 
universally  cover  up  their  bodies  with  stuff  cloths.  Thus  a  century's  progress  has 
resulted  in  the  replacing  of  the  grass  petticoat  by  woven  materials.  Meanwhile, 
the  domestic  industry  perishes,  and  no  new  dexterity  arises  in  its  stead.  On  the 
lower  Congo  we  no  longer  find  the  bark-stuffs  and  fine  webs  which  Lopez  and 
other  travellers  of  the  sixteenth  century  prized  so  highly.  Where,  too,  is  the  art 
of  grinding  amber  and  obsidian, ,  which  produced  such  conspicuous  results  in 
ancient  Mexico  ?  or  the  goldsmith's  work  and  tapestry  of  the  old  Peruvians  ? 

For  estimating  the  importance  of  external  suggestion,  nothing  is  more  instruc- 
tive than  the  consideration  of  races  which  are  poorest  in  an  ethnographical  sense. 
Of  them  we  can  say  that  they  are  invariably  also  those  whose  intercourse  with 
others  is  scantiest.      Why  are  the  most  remote  races  at  the  extremities  of  the 


Human  figure  and 
jnedusa  in  walrus- 
ivory,  from  (?) 
Tahiti.  (Vienna 
Ethnograpiiical 
Museum. ) 


INVENTION  AND  DISCOVERY 


83 


continents  or  on  the  less  accessible  islands  the  most  destitute  ?  Ethnographic 
poverty  is  only  in  part  a  consequence  of  the  penury,  the  general  poverty,  which 
presses  on  a  people.  This  has  been  readily  recognised  in  the  case  of  many  races, 
as,  for  instance,  the  Australians,  whose  life  on  the  arid  steppes  of  their  continent, 
almost  destitute  of  useful  plants  and  animals,  is  one  of  the  poorest  and  most 
depressed  that  has  been  allotted  to  any  race  on  the  earth.  But  even  in  the 
most  favoured  northern  tracts  within  the  tropics,  they  are  almost  totally  devoid  of 
that  tendency  to  the  artistic  adornment  of  existence  which  flourishes  so  profusely 
among  their  Papuan  neighbours,  and  forms  the  luxury  of  barbarous  races.  In 
this  case  we  need  not  seek  far  for  the  causes  of  their  ethnographical  poverty. 
Every  glance  at  the  conditions  and  mode  of  these  people's  life  shows  how  sharp 
is  their  struggle  to  maintain  bare  existence,  but   it   also  shows   the   impoverishing 


Shell  and  bone  fish-hooks  from  Oceania,      The  larger  one  on  the  right  probably  of  North  American 
origin.      (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum.) 

effects  of  remoteness  from  the  great  streams  of  traffic.  The  out-of-the-way 
situation  of  Australia,  southern  South  America,  the  interior  of  South  Africa,  and 
eastern  Polynesia,  exercises  the  same  impoverishing  influence  everywhere  upon  the 
indigenous  races.  If  any  one  is  inclined  to  see  in  this  a  sort  of  contagion  of 
poverty,  referable  to  the  smaller  number  of  suggestions  offered  under  these 
conditions  by  Nature  to  the  mind,  and  especially  to  the  fancy,  he  must  beware  of 
hasty  conclusions.  Easter  Island,  though  small,  and  by  nature  poor,  is  ethno- 
graphically  rich  ;  and  hardly  any  barbarous  race  is  superior  in  artistic  develop- 
ment to  the  Eskimo. 

We  know  how  the  utensils  and  weapons  of  civilized  races  have  spread  as  it 
were  by  stages  and  continue  to  spread  to  races  which  previously  possessed  no 
notion  of  them.  When  Stanley  crossed  the  Dark  Continent,  on  his  first  remark- 
able journey  along  the  Congo,  the  last  point  where  firearms  were  seen  in  native 
hands  was  left  on  the  east  at  the  famous  market-town  of  Nyangwe.  He  came 
upon  them  again  to  the  westward  at  Nbenga,  6°  north  of  Nyangwe,  in  the  shape 
of  those  four  old  Portuguese  muskets,  ever  to  be  historical  as  the  first  sign  from 
which  the  party  learned,  at  the  most  critical  moment  of  their  journey,  "  that  we  had 
not  missed  the  way,  and  that  the  great  stream  really  reached  the  sea."  Nyangwe 
and  Nbenga  are  on  the  borders  of  an  area  of  200,000  to  250,000  square  miles 
wherein  firearms,  with  which  the  coasts  of  Africa  have  roared  these  four  hundred 
years,  were  a  few  years  ago  unknown.      It  is  true  that  other  things  have  been 


84 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


I  if 


t 


more  quickly  diffused,  as  for  instance  those  American  products 
\yhich  were  not  brought  here  till  the  sixteenth  century — tobacco, 
maize,  and  potatoes.  But  they  too  have  travelled  by  stages  ; 
the  Damaras  have  only  come  to  know  tobacco  within  the  last 
few  dozen  years. 

To    this    fact  of  the    importance  of  intercourse    we    must 

ascribe  the  striking  uni- 
formity of  motive  seen 
in  productions  of  ethno- 
graphical interest  even 
in  rich  districts  ;  as 
when  the  island-world 
of  Melanesia  and  Poly- 
nesia, so  far  as  concerns 
the  distribution  of  uten- 
sils and  weapons,  pre- 
sents the  picture  of  a 
meadow  in  which  the 
same  main  elements 
spring  up  everywhere  in 
the  vegetation,  thinner 
in  one  place,  thicker  in 
another,  here  showing 
better,  here  less  good 
condition,  and  only 
rarely  mingled  with 
such  peculiar  growths 
as  wonderfully  animate 
the  picture.  And  just 
as  amid  the  monotonous 
herbage  on  the  barren 
soil  of  a  steppe,  we 
often  suddenly  see  one 
plant  above  the  rest  un- 
fold itself  in  luxuriance, 
so  is  it  here.  The  in- 
tellect of  races,  torpid  as 
it  is  in  the  matter  of 
following  up  what  it  has  got,  suddenly  receives  from  some  side 
or  other  an  impulse  towards  freer  unfolding.  It  is  well  worth 
while  to  study  first  these  isolated  developments,  even  in  the 
grotesque.  It  is  interesting  too  to  see  at  what  manifold  forms 
the  people  of  small  islands  in  Polynesia  have  arrived  in  a  set  of 
fish-hooks,  through  their  devotion  to  fishing  ;  or  how  others,  by 
dint  of  a  consistent  progress  in  a  definite  direction,  have  appro- 
priated some  remarkable  style  of  weapon,  demanding  much 
industry  and  ingenuity.  The  art  of  fitting-up  weapons  with 
sharks'  teeth,  to  such  an  extent  that  one  might  suppose  one 


I.  •« 


Weapons  set  with  shark's  teeth,   from  the  Gilbert 
Islands.      (Munich  Ethnographical  Museum.) 


INVENTION  AND  DISCOVERY 


85 


constant 

an  area 

weapons 


had  to  do  with  a  people  of  no  small  numbers  and  strength,  living  in 
war,  reached  its  highest  point  in  the  Gilbert  or  Kingsmill  Islands  with 
of  185  square  miles  and  a  population  of  not  more  than  35,000.  These 
surpass  in  gruesomeness  those  of  any 
other  race  in  Polynesia,  and  the 
equipment  which  corresponds  to  them 
is  brought  to  a  finish  that  we  find 
nowhere  else  but  in  Japan  and  New 
Guinea.  Thus  under  uniformity  of 
fundamental  idea  almost  every  island- 
group  conceals  its  own  more  or  less 
perfected  special  features  ;  even  if  it 
be  only  that  invariable  little  human 
figure,  easily  overlooked,  found  on  all 
Tongan  carved-work.  Among  con- 
tinental races  such  features  naturally 
are  more  limited  in  their  appearance. 
But  even  here,  every  circle  of  culture, 
however  narrow,  has  its  own  little 
peculiarities,  which  establish  them- 
selves with  a  certain  consistency  in 
the  niost  various  domains.  Just  as  among  the  West  Africans  we  can  point  to 
the  predilection  for  representing  what  is  ugly,  as  a  characteristic  of  this  kind,  so 


Carved  and  painted  figure  from  Dahomey. 
Ethnographical  Museum. ) 


Zanza,  a  musical  instrument  used  over  a  great  part  of  Central  and  South  Africa. 

among  the  forest-negroes  we  have  the  frequent  employment  of  banana-leaves  in 
the  place  of  leather,  hide,  or  stuff — a  theme  upon  which  the  Monbuttus  play 
endless  variations.  This  race  offers  at  the  same  time  an  interesting  example  of 
a  general  high-development  of  industry  under  favourable  conditions.  When  the 
storms   of  the  period  passed  harmless  round  a  peaceful  oasis,  as  was  once  the 


86 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


case  with  Monbuttuland,  the  rich  soil  of  wealth  in  material  and  natural  ability- 
allowed  a  fine  flower  to  expand  ;  destined  however  to  a  short  existence.  Its 
fame  spread  far  and  wide  in  Africa.  The  actual  discovery  of  the  Monbuttus  by 
Schweinfurth  was  preceded  by  rumours,  reaching  even  to  Europe,  not  only  of 
their  brown  colour,  but  of  their  high  degree  of  civilization  ;  and  that  traveller 
himself  reports  that  even  in  the  district  of  the  Bahr-el-Ghazal  he  gathered  from 
the  conversation  of  the  ivory-traders  how  they  were  looked  upon  as  a  peculiar 
and  distinguished  people.     But,  above  all,  the  cleverness  of  the  people  in  the 

repair  of  warlike  weapons 
and  peaceful  utensils  is 
highly  esteemed.  The  high 
position  which  the  negroes 
of  Africa  hold  in  the  manu- 
facture of  the  most  varied 
musical  instruments  is  quite 
a  unique  phenomenon,  and 
has  provided  endless  ma- 
terial for  eulogistic  descrip- 
tions. Yet  with  all  this  the 
industry  of  the  Monbottus 
always  remains  a  negro-  in- 
dustry, often  applied  to  the 
same  themes  as  we  find 
among  the  Nile  negroes 
and  the  Kaffirs.  One  of 
the  most  difficult  tasks  we 
can  undertake  is  when,  as 
here,  we  have  to  define  a 
gradation  in  the  degree  of 
perfection  reached  by  any 
branch  of  human  activity, 
and  yet  at  the  same  time 
such  tasks  are  among  those 
that  can  best  be  justified  if 
any  genealogical  conclusion 
difference  in  the  develop- 


Fan  warrior  with  crossbow.      (After  Dii  Chaillu. ) 


is    to    be  drawn    from   this  gradation.      We   notice 

ment  of  shipbuilding  between  two  races  dwelling  so  near  each  other  as  the 
Fijians  and  Tongans  ;  the  latter,  of  Polynesian  descent,  in  this  matter  surpassing 
to  a  noteworthy  extent  the  Fijians,  who  are  to  be  reckoned  among  Melanesians. 
The  difference  is  not  great,  but  very  important,  since  it  contributes  to  the  confirma- 
tion of  our  view  that  the  Melanesians,  who  have  been  longer  established,  received 
the  high  development  of  their  shipbuilding  and  navigation  from  the  later  arrived 
Polynesians,  and  not  vke-versd.  Yet  it  is  obviously  always  difficult  to  judge  with 
certainty  in  such  a  case,  all  the  more  so  that  a  race  superior  in  general  culture 
may  in  the  matter  of  individual  points  of  knowledge  and  knack  be  behind  some 
who  on  the  whole  belong  to  a  lower  stage.  The  superiority  in  smith's  work  of 
the  Djurs  over  the  Nubians,  or  the  manifest  advantage  which  the  Musgus  possess 
as  agriculturists  over  their  Soudanese  masters,  appears  an  anomaly.     The  clever- 


AGRICULTURE  AND  CATTLE-BREEDING  87 

ness  of  the  negroes  in  both  thefee  directions  has  astonished  even  Europeans.  If  the 
facts  were  not  so  clear,  any  one  would  be  predisposed  to  ascribe  to  people  like  the 
Arabs  or  Borneans,  who  in  many  other  respects  possess  so  superior  a  civilization, 
the  education  of  the  negroes  to  the  excellence  which  they  have  attained  in  these 
arts.  But  the  very  fact  that  the  Arabs  had  something  to  learn  from  the  negroes 
in  agriculture  and  house-building  testifies  to  the  antiquity  in  Africa  of  an  indigenous 
semi-civilization  based  upon  agriculture. 

It  is  quite  wrong  to  believe  that  we  do  not  meet  with  division  of  labour  before 
reaching  a  somewhat  advanced  stage  of  economic  development :  Central  Africa 
has  its  villages  of  blacksmiths,  nay,  of  smiths  who  only  make  throwing-knives  ; 
New  Guinea  its  potter  villages  ;  North  America  its  finishers  of  arrowheads.  Hence 
arise  those  remarkable  social  and  political  groins  which  from  guilds  become  castes, 
and  from  castes  privileged  classes  in  a  race.  Hunting-races,  who  stand  towards 
the  agriculturist  in  a  mutual  relation  of  traffic  in  products,  are  scattered  with 
special  frequency  about  Africa.  Besides  these  specialised  activities  there  are 
others  distributed  among  those  people  who  practise  their  art  only  occasionally  as 
need  requires.  The  form  and  fashion  of  their  work  therefore  often  appears  in  the 
shape  of  a  busy  idleness.  A  man  who  has  just  then  nothing  better  to  do  polishes 
a  great  trochus  for  an  arm  band,  or  files  some  other  kind  of  shell  for  a  finger 
ring,  or  prefers  to  do  the  engraved  work  on  a  club  to  which  he  has  for  years 
past  devoted  his  leisure.  This  habit  of  working  with  the  most  liberal  expenditure 
of  time,  and  quite  at  ease,  goes  far  to  explain  the  perfection  of  the  things  produced. 
No  doubt  they  are  for  the  most  part  articles  for  immediate  use  and  not  for  traffic, 
and  trade  profits  little  by  this  limited  though  persevering  labour ;  whereas  an 
active  trade  is  closely  connected  with  the  industries  mentioned  above. 


§  9.  AGRICULTURE  AND  CATTLE-BREEDING 

Origin  of  agriculture — First  stages — Limitation  of  nature — Breeding  animals — Taming  animals — Influence 
of  cattle-breeding  upon  national  destiny — Nomadism — Influence  of  agriculture — Low  place  taken  by 
agriculture  among  "natural"  races — Food  and  feeding. 

In  view  of  man's  profound  dependence  on  Nature,  none  of  the  suggestions  which 
she  ofi'ers  to  him  will  sooner  prove  beneficial  than  those  which  tend  to  modify  that 
dependence  by  so  far  as  possible  placing  under  his  own  control  the  bonds  which 
link  him  to  the  rest  of  the  animated  world.  The  way  to  this  lies  inthe  permanent 
appropriation  by  means  of  tillage  and  breeding  of  useful  plants  and  animals. 

Doubtless  there  never  was  a  time  when  man  could,  without  trouble,  acquire 
food,  shelter,  livelihood,  by  drawing  upon  Nature.  Nature  nowhere  brings  the 
food  to  his  mouth,  nor  roofs  his  hut  adequately  over  his  head.  Even  the 
Australian  who,  in  order  to  get  his  victuals,  does  no  more  than  prepare  a  sharp 
or  spade-ended  stick  to  grub  roots,  or  chop  nicks  in  the  trees  with  his  axe  to 
support  his  feet  in  climbing,  or  make  weapons,  fish-spear,  net,  or  hook,  or  traps 
for  smaller  animals,  pitfalls  for  larger — even  he  must  take  some  trouble,  and  that 
not  entirely  bodily,  to  help  himself.  Even  in  his  case  the  various  artifices  by 
which  he  manages  to  exploit  what  Nature  freely  gives  indicate  a  certain  develop- 


88 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


ment  of  the  faculties.  Nor  does  this  go  on  regardless  of  rights  and  laws.  The 
Australians,  like  all  other  hunting  races,  even  the  Eskimo,  are  bound  to  definite 
districts.  It  is  only  within  their  own  hunting-grounds  that  they  shift  their 
habitation  according  to  the  time  of  year  and  the  supply  of  game. 

It  is,  however,  but  a  poorly  productive  capital  that  is  invested  in  all  these 
dexterities  and  contrivances,  which  have  only  a  momentary  use,  and  from  which 
no  permanent  gains  in  the  way  of  culture  can  accrue.  From  this  situation, 
dependent  as  it  is,  and  for  that  very  reason  easy,  man  raises  himself  to  a  higher 
stage  by  engaging  Nature  in  certain  directions  to  more  durable  performance.  To  - 
this  shaking-up  and  awakening,  want  is  more  favourable  than  abundance.  In 
many  respects  Nature  comes  to  his  aid,  having  supplied  various  countries  very 
variously  with  crops  which  can  be  made  available  for  agriculture.  We  may. 
regard  as  especially  favourable  those  regions  where  there  is  a  marked  difference 
in  the  seasons.  Nature  at  one  time  emerging  in  the  fullest   creative  vigour,  at 

another  lying  dead  and  be- 
numbed, as  in  the  steppes. 
Some  steppe  regions  con- 
tain by  no  means  a  small 
supply  of  food  crops  ;  for 
in  the  effort  to  hoard  nutri- 
ment and  moisture  for  the 
future  germ  during  the  dry 
season.  Nature  has  stored 
in  grains,  tubers,  bulbs,  and 
fruits  exactly  what  man  can 
best  use.  These  countries  >. 
then  offer  him  not  only  the 
inducement  to  store  up  and 
put  in  barns,  but,  at  the 
same   time    the   most    suit- 


Our  varieties  of  crops  must  come  in  great  measure 


Stick  used  by  Bushmen  in  digging  roots,  and  stone  weights  for  the  same. 
( Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology. ) 

able  growths  for  the  purpose, 
from  these  regions. 

When  man  sets  to  work  to  add  something  from  his  own  resources  to  what 
Nature  does  for  him,  a  simple  solution  of  the  problem  lies  in  an  attempt  to  bottle 
up  as  it  were  the  sources  of  his  food  supply.  Even  now  many  of  those 
Australian  races  whom  we  regard  as  standing  on  the  lowest  step  of  civilization, 
•strictly  prohibit  the  pulling-up  of  plants  which  have  edible  fruit,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  birds'  nests.  They  are  content  simply  to  let  Nature  work  for  them  only 
taking  thought  not  to  disturb  her.  Wild  bees'  nests  are  often  emptied  with'  such 
regularity  that  a  kind  of  primitive  bee-keeping  grows  up.  So  with  other  animals  ■ 
man  allows  them  to  lay  up  the  provision  which  he  subsequently  takes  away,  and 
thus  IS  led  in  another  direction  to  the  verge  of  cultivation.  Drege  instances  the 
case  of  Arthratherum  brevifolium,  a  grain-bearing  grass  in  Namaqua-land,  the 
seed  of  which  the  Bushmen  take  from  the  ants. 

Here  Nature  frames  a  check  for  man,  and  teaches  him  thrift.  On  the  other 
side,  the  tendency  to  settlement  is  encouraged.  Where  large  provision  of  fruits 
IS  found  whole  tribes  come  at  the  gathering  time  from  all  sides,  and  remain  as 
long  as  the  food  lasts.      Thus  to  this  day  the  Zanderillos  of  Mexico  come  to  the 


AGRICULTURE  AND   CATTLE-BREEDING 


sandy  lowlands  of  the  Coatzacoalco  when  the  melons  are  ripe  ;  or  the  Ojibbeways 

assemble  round  the   marshes   where  the   Zizania,  or  water-rice,  grows  ;    or  the 

Australians    hold    a    kind    of    harvest    festivity    in    the    neighbourhood    of    the 

marsiliaceous  plants  which  serve  them  for  grain.     Thus  on  two  sides  the  barriers 

of  savage  nature  are  broken  down.     The  son  of  the  desert  is  beginning  to  look 

ahead,  and  is  on  the  way 
,  to  become  settled.     From 

this    stage    to    the    great 

epoch  -  making      discovery 

that  he   must  commit  the 

seed  to  the  earth  in  order 

to     stimulate     Nature    to 

richer  performance,  may  in 

point  of   time   have   been 

far,  but   as  we  think  of  it 

the    step    does    not    seem 

long. 

The      beginnings       of 

cattle  -  breeding   show   yet 

further  how  man  succeeded 

in    knitting    an    important 

part    of    Nature    with    his 

own  fortunes.  The  roam- 
ing barbarian,  who  for  cer- 
tain periods  is  quite  away 

from  mankind,  tries  to  get 

from  Nature  either  what  is 

most  like  himself,  or  what 

seems  less  likely  to  make 
him  conscious  of  his  own 
weakness  and  smallness. 
Now  the  animal  world, 
though  separated  by  a  deep 
gulf  from  man  of  to-day, 
includes,  in  its  gentler  and 
more  docile  members,  the 
natural  qualities  with  which 
he  likes  best  to  associate 
himself.  The  delight  which  Indians,  or  Dyaks,  or  Nile-negroes  take  in  taming  wild 
animals  is  well  known.  Their  huts  are  full  of  monkeys,  parrots,  and  other  playmates. 
It  may  be  that  the  strong  impulse  to  companionship  which  exists  in  man  may  have 
had  more  to  do  with  the  first  effective  step  towards  acquiring  domestic  animals  than 
any  eye  to  the  use  to  be  made  of  them.  Thus  we  find,  no  less  among  the  lowest 
races  of  existing  mankind  than  in  the  remains  of  civilization  anterior  to  the  intro- 
duction of  domestic  animals  and  cultivated  plants,  the  dog  as  the  sole  permanent 
companion  ;  and  his  usefulness  is  limited  enough.^    Generally,  indeed,  it  is  difficult 

■"  [May  not  his  use  in  hunting,  which  is  considerable,  have  been  discovered  by  men  in  the  hunting-stage  of 
development  ?] 


Loango  negress  at  field-work.     (From  a  photograph  by  Dr.  Falkenstein. ) 


9°  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

to  draw  any  certain  conclusion  from  the  purpose  which  an  animal  serves  in  our 
civilization,  as  to  that  for  which  man  first  associated  him  with  himself.  In  Africa 
and  Oceania  the  dog  is  used  for  food.  We  may  suppose  that  the  horse  and  the 
camel  were  in  the  first  instance  tamed,  not  so  much  for  the  sake  of  their  speed 
as  for  the  milk  of  their  females.  A  certain  friendship,  even  in  more  civilized 
countries,  attaches  the  shepherd  to  the  members  of  his  flock.  Thus  cattle-farming 
is  a  pursuit  which  arouses  more  enthusiasm  than  agriculture.  It  is  more  often 
the  men's  work,  and  exercises  a  far  deeper  influence  on  all  private  and  public 
relations.  Nowhere  in  Africa  do  the  fruits  of  the  field  form  to  the  same  extent 
as  the  herds  the  basis  of  life,  the  source  of  pleasure,  the  measure  of  wealth,  the 
means  of  acquiring  all  other  desirable  articles,  especially  women  ;  lastly  even 
currency,  as  when  pecus  gave  its  name  to  pecunia.  Many  a  race  has  carried  this 
identification  of  its  existence  with  its  favourite  animal  to  a  dangerous  excess. 
Even  when  their  stage  of  culture  is  well  advanced  these  cattle-farming 
peoples  suffer  from  the  narrow  basis  in  which  their  livelihood  rests.  The  Basutos 
are,  all  things  considered,  the  best  branch  of  the  great  Bechuana  stock,  but  the 
theft  of  their  cattle  alone  was  enough  to  reduce  them  to  impotence.  Similarly  the 
rinderpest  of  recent  years  has  ruined  the  Masai  and  Wagogo. 

But  the  great  influence  which  cattle-breeding  produces  upon  a  race  is  to  make  it 
restless.  Pastoral  life  and  nomad  life  are  practically  synonymous.  Even  our  own 
alp-system,  with  its  changes  from  valley  to  mountain  pastures,  is  a  fragment  of 
nomadism.  Pastoral  life  requires  wide  spaces,  and  agrees  with  the  restless' tendencies 
of  the  more  forcible  races.  The  desert  is  preferred  to  the  fertile  country,  as  more 
spacious.  The  Rhenish  missionaries  had  specially  to  undertake  the  task  of 
inducing  some  of  the  Namaqua  tribes  to  settle  on  fertile  oases.  How  little  nomads 
care  to  utilise  Nature  more  thoroughly  we  may  learn  from  the  fact  that  as  a  rule 
they  hoard  no  provision  for  the  winter.  In  the  country  about  Gobabis  on  the 
Nosob  River,  Chapman  found  the  grass  growing  a  yard  high,  and  so  thick  that 
it  would  have  been  easy  to  make  hay  in  abundance ;  but  as  a  rule  the  Namaquas 
allowed  it  to  be  burnt  without  attempting  to  use  it.  This  sort  of  indifference 
tends  to  increase  the  contrast  between  nomadism  and  agriculture,  and  assumes 
the  character  of  a  great  obstacle  to  civilization.  Prjewalski,  in  his  account  of  his 
first  journey,  has  described  this  boundary,  the  boundary  of  both  Nature  and  culture, 
between  steppe  and  farm  land,  between  "  the  cold  desert  plateau  and  the  warm, 
fertile,  and  well-watered  plain  of  China,  intersected  by  mountain-chains,"  as  marked 
with  wonderful  sharpness.  He  agrees  with  Ritter  that  this  question  of  situation  L 
is  what  decides  the  historic  fortunes  of  races  which  inhabit  countries  closely 
bordering  on  each  other.  When  he  enters  the  Ordos  country — that  steppe  region, 
so  important  in  history,  which  lies  in  the  bend  of  the  upper  Hoangho, — he  says  of 
the  races  in  those  parts  :  "  Dissimilar  as  they  are,  both  in  mode  of  life  and  in  char-  ^ 
acter,  they  were  destined  by  Nature  to  remain  alien  to  each  other,  and  in  a  state 
of  mutual  hatred.  To  the  Chinese,  a  restless  nomad  life,  full  of  privation,  was 
inconceivable  and  despicable ;  the  nomad  looked  with  contempt  at  the  life  of  his  agri- 
cultural neighbour  with  all  its  cares  and  toils,  and  esteemed  his  own  savage  freedom 
the  greatest  happiness  on  earth.  This  is  the  actual  source  of  the  distinction  in 
character  between  the  races  :  the  laborious  Chinese,  who  from  time  immemorial 
has  attained  to  a  comparatively  high  and  very  peculiar  civilization,  always  avoided 
war,  and  looked  on  it  as  the  greatest  misfortune  ;    while  on  the  other  hand  the 


AGRICULTURE  AND   CATTLE-BREEDING 


91 


active  and  savage  inhabitant  of  the  Mongolian  desert,  hardened  against  all 
physical  consequences,  was  ever  ready  for  raiding  and  reiving.  If  he  failed  he 
lost  but  little,  while  in  the  event  of  success  he  secured  the  wealth  accumulated  by 
the  labour  of  several  generations.'' 

Here  we  have  the  contrast  between  the  most  characteristically  nomad  race 
and  the  most  sedentary  agriculturists, — a  contrast  with  whose  historical  results  in 
many  gradations  we  shall  meet  as  we  go  along,  in  the  chapters ,  of  this  book 
which  describe  races.  Only  we  must  not  forget  that  sedentary  life  in  this  degree 
is  found  in  a  race  of  ancient  civilization.  It  is  otherwise  with  the  "  natural  "  races. 
When  we  consider  the  position  of  agricultural  barbarians,  we  shall  often  no  doubt 
attach  less  weight  to  the  difference,  in  other  respects  of  so  much  ethnographic 
importance,  between  nomadic  and  settled  races  ;  for  what  is  the  significance  of 
a  sedentary  mode  of  life  if  its  great  civilizing  advantage,  continuity,  and  security 
of  life,  and  if  possible  of  progress,  is 
taken  out  of  it?  As  a  matter  of 
fact  even  the  best  cultivators  among 
the  African  races  are  astonishingly 
movable  ;  and  the  majority  of  villages, 
even  of  the  smaller  races,  seldom  re- 
main for  many  generations  in  the 
same  spot.  Thus  the  distinction  be--' 
tween  pastoral  and  agricultural  life 
becomes  much  smaller.  The  African 
Negro  is  the  finest  agriculturist  of  all ' 
"  natural  "  races,  except  perhaps  some 
Malayan  tribes,  as,  say,  the  Battaks 
of  Sumatra.  He  contends  with  a 
luxuriant  nature,  fells  trees,  and  burns 
the  coppice,  to  make  room  for  the  plough.  Round  the  hut  of  a  Bongo  or  a  Musgu 
you  will  find  a  greater  varietjf  of  garden  plants  than  in  the  fields  and  gardens  of 
a  German  village.  He  grows  more  than  he  requires,  and  preserves  the  surplus  in 
granaries  above  or  under  the  ground.  But  the  force  of  the  soil  and  the  man  is  not' 
utilised  to  the  full.  It  is  a  small  cultivation,  a  kind  of  gardening.  Codrington's 
expression,  "  horticultural  people,"  used  by  him  of  the  Melanesians,  may  be  applied 
to  many  other  "  natural "  races.  Apart  from  the  fact  that  the  man  does  not  in 
many  cases  devote  himself  wholly  to  agriculture,  imperfect  tools  tend  to  per- 
petuate the  lower  stage.  The  women  and  children,  with  the  unpractical  hoes 
shown  in  our  illustrations,  do  no  more  than  scratch  the  surface.  The  plough,  not 
to  mention  the  harrow,  has  nowhere  become  customary  among  genuinely  bar- 
barous peoples ;  manuring,  except  for  the  ashes  of  the  burnt  brushwood,  just  as 
little.      One  much  more  often  comes  across  terracing  and  artificial  irrigation. 

Agriculture,  limited  in  the  tropics  by  the  hostility  of  the  forces  of  Nature,  is 
equally  so  in  the  temperate  zones  by  the  lesser  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  less 
favourable  climate.  It  was  never  carried  on  here  to  the  same  extent  as  in  the 
tropics,  but  rather  formed  a  subsidiary  branch  of  economy  ;  it  fell  mainly  into 
the  hands  of  the  women,  and  was  a  provision  only  for  the  utmost  need.  In  con- 
trast to  the  wide  diffusion  which  newly-imported  plants  obtained  among  the 
Africans,  it  is  significant  that  the   New  Zealanders,  though  they  were  from  the 


Iron  hoe  from  Kordofan.      The  blade  is  also  used  as  cur- 
rency— one-eighth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection.) 


92 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


first  very  fond  of  potatoes,  never  planted  any  of  their  own  free  will,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  grubbed  up  almost  the  whole  of  the  ground  which  Captain  Furneaux 
had  tilled  for  their  benefit.  Still,  it  is  just  here  that,  with  persistence,  agriculture 
renders  possible  higher  developments  than  cattle-farming  can  do.  It  is  steadier, 
and  forces  on  a  man  the  wholesome  habit  of  labour.  In  Mexico  and  Peru  it  is  ^ 
followed  by  the  accumulation  of  capital,  and  the  development  of  industry  and 
trade  ;  and  therewith  by  the  occasion   for  a   fuller  organisation   of  social   ranks. 

European  cultivation  is  an  entirely  new  system  ;  apart ' 
from  its  more  effective  implements  and  methods,  it  pro- 
ceeds on  broader  lines.  It  has  abandoned  the  gardening 
style  possessed  by  the  agriculture  of  Negroes  and  Poly- 
nesians, even  by  that  of  the  industrious  peoples  of  east 
and  south  Asia. 

This  kind  of  agriculture  does  not  make  the  daily 
bread  secure.  Even  the  most  active  cultivators  in  Africa 
have  to  go  without  security  against  changes  of  luck.  The 
behaviour  of  the  elements  cannot  be  reckoned  upon. 
Drought  especially  does  not  spare  these  tropical  Paradises; 
and  famine  often  forms  a  scourge  of  the  population  in  the 
most  fertile  regions.  This  alone  is  sufficient  to  prevent  - 
these  races  from  passing  a  certain  line,  beyond  which  their 
development  to  a  higher  civilization  is  alone  possible.  AlK 
the  good  of  a  good  year  is  trodden  out  by  a  famine  year 
with  its  results  of  cannibalism  and  the  sale  of  children. 
In  the  tropics,  too,  damp  makes  the  storage  of  provisions 
difficult.  In  Africa,  again,  the  devastation  of  ants  and 
weevils  makes  it  hard  to  keep  the  chief  crop,  millet,  till 
the  next  harvest.  However  much  they  plant,  and  how-- 
ever  plentiful  the  harvest  turns  out,  everything  must  be 
consumed  in  the  year.  This  again  is  one  reason  why  the 
negroes  brew  so  much  beer.  Herein,  however,  whatever  ^ 
may  be  the  fault  of  the  climate,  undoubtedly  lies  one  of 
the  imperfections  whereby  agriculture  will  necessarily  be 
beset  among  a  race  in  whose  customs  foresight  and  en- 
durance are  hardly  developed,  and  are  incapable  of  linking 
the  activities  of  individual  persons  and  individual  days  with  a  strong  thread  of 
necessary  interdependence.  And  here,  too,  human  foes,  those  "  communists  of  - 
nature  "  who  equalise  all  property,  take  good  care  that  the  steady  prosperity  of 
agriculture  shall  not  create  too  deep  a  gulf  between  it  and  nomadism. 

In  the  matter  of  food,  "  natural  "  races,  even  when  they  carry  on  agriculture,  ^'■ 
strive  with  avidity  to  get  animal  adjuncts.  Contrary  to  our  physiological  notions, 
fat  and  blood  are  consumed  in  quantities  even  by  purely  tropical  races,  like  the 
Polynesians  ;  and  it  is  just  in  these  things  that  gluttony  is  practised.  The 
nearest  approach  to  vegetarianism  is  made  by  the  rice-planting  peoples  of  east 
Asia  and  the  banana-planting  negroes  of  the  forest,  as  formerly  by  the  civilized 
races  of  America.  The  races  of  the  far  north  eat,  no  doubt,  more  than  we  suppose 
of  wild  plants  ;  but  they  rely  especially  on  the  fat  and  flesh  of  sea-mammals. 
Some  nomad  groups  support  themselves  with  superstitious  exclusiveness  on  meat  "^ 


Hoe  or  gnibbing-axe  of  turtle- 
bone,  from  the  Mortlock 
Islands.     (British  Museum.) 


CLOTHING  AND   ORNAMENT  93 

and  milk.  Roots  are  eagerly  sought.  Salt  is  liked  in  all  parts  of  the  earth,  and 
the  fondness  for  meat  and  blood  is  based  in  some  measure  on  the  craving  for  it. 
By  rapid  and  thorough  roasting  the  salts  of  the  meat-juices  are  rendered  more 
highly  serviceable.  Every  race  in  all  parts  of  the  earth  has  hit  upon  some  means 
of  enjoying  caffein  compounds  and  alcohol.  Tobacco  is  not  the  only  narcotic 
herb  that  is  smoked.  The  methods  of  chewing  betel  and  coca  are  strikingly 
alike.     The  knowledge  of  many  poisons  has  come  to  civilized  races  from  barbarians. 


§   lo.  CLOTHING  AND  ORNAMENT 

Complete  nudity  nowhere  found  as  a  regular  custom — Caprice  in  the  matter  of  clothing  and  non-clothing — 
Better  clothing  is  no  absolute  indication  of  higher  culture — Fashion — Clothing  begins  as  ornament — 
Natural  clothing  materials — Climate  has  little  influence  on  clothing — Example  of  the  Fuegians — Eskimos 
— Ornament  found  everywhere — Similarity  of  principle  in  ornament — Ornament  and  weapons — Mutilations 
—  Difference  of  ornament  according  to  sex  —  Material  of  ornament — Ornament  and  trade — Precious 
metals — Imitation  pearls — Cleanliness. 

We  have  heard  tell  of  races  to  whom  clothing  is  unknown  ;  but  it  must  be  said 
that  the  few  cases  of  this  for  which  there  is  good  evidence  are  exceptions  that 
have  arisen  under  such  special  conditions  as  only  to  establish  the  rule.  If, 
however,  we  are  to  discover  the  principles  which  underlie  the  usage  generally,  the 
first  thing  required  is  to  come  to  an  understanding  as  to  what  we  mean  by 
clothing.  It  is  surely  impossible  to  designate  mere  ornament  as  clothing ;  among 
tribes  in  tropical  countries  the  motive  of  protection  against  cold  entirely  disappears, 
and  of  all  the  superfluity  of  our  northern  apparel,  nothing  remains  save  what  is 
required  by  decency.  One  need  hardly  discuss  the  question  whether  there  is 
any  thought  of  simply  protecting  the  parts  concealed.  If  it  were  a  question 
of  protection,  the  feet  and  ankles  would  surely  be  sooner  covered.  What  is  most 
decisive  is  the  observed  fact  that  clothing  stands  in  unmistakable  relation  to  the 
sexual  life,  and  that  the  first  to  wear  complete  clothes  is  not  the  man  who  has  to 
dash  through  the  bush  in  hunting,  but  the  married  woman.  This  gives  us  the 
primary  cause  of  wrappings,  which  must  have  arisen  when  the  family  was  evolved 
from  the  unregulated  intercourse  of  the  horde, — when  the  man  began  to  assert  a 
claim  to  individual  and  definite  women.  He  it  was  who  compelled  the  woman  to 
have  no  dealings  with  other  men,  and  to  cover  herself  as  a  means  of  diminishing 
her  attractions.  As  a  further  step  in  this  direction  may  be  noted  the  veiling  of 
the  bosom.  From  this  root,  the  separation  of  the  sexes,  sprang  the  feeling  of 
modesty  ;  this  developed  powerfully,  and  clothing  with  it.  It  was  a  great  stride  ; 
since  the  more  confined  and  more  destitute  the  life  of  a  tribe  is,  the  less  induce- 
ment is  given  to  a  rigid  separation  of  the  sexes  with  its  attendant  jealousy  ;  and 
the  more  readily  do  they  dispense  with  the  troublesome  covering,  of  which  scanty 
fragments  alone  remain.  Thus  it  is  always  the  smallest,  most  degraded,  most 
out-of-the-way  tribes  among  whom  we  more  especially  find  no  mention  of 
customary  clothing ;  such  as  some  Australian  races,  the  extinct  Tasmanians,  some 
forest  tribes  of  Brazil,  and  here  or  there  a  negro  horde.  Even  with  them  survivals 
of  dress  are  not  wanting.     When  clothing  was  more  complete,  the  woman  gained 


94 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


immensely  in  charm,  esteem,  and  social  position,  so  that  she  had  every  reason  to 
keep  up  her  wardrobe. 

It  is  quite  otherwise  with  the  portion  of  the  dress  intended  directly  to  protect 
the  body.      In  all  places  we  find  the  shoulder-covering  in   the   shape   of  a   cloak. 

Tropical    tribes    use    it 


primarily  to  keep  off  the 
rain,  while  in  colder 
climates  it  serves  for 
warmth  and  also  as  a 
sleeping -cover.  These 
cloak-like  articles  of 
clothing  are  far  less 
v/idely  diffused  than 
those  which  serve  for 
decency  ;  which  also 
proves  that  the  latter 
were  the  first  clothing 
worn  by  men. 

Another  circum- 
stance undoubtedly  has 
contributed  to  develop 
the  sense  of  modesty,  as 
Karl  von  den  Steinen 
has  pointed  out.  As 
the  wild  beast  drags  his 
prey  into  the  thicket,  in 
order  to  devour  it  un- 
disturbed, so  some  tribes 
think  it  highly  inde- 
corous to  look  at  any 
one  eating ;  and  the 
same  may  have  held 
good  in  regard  to  other 
functions.  Still  this  can 
only  have  been  sub- 
sidiary, and  does  not 
account  for  the  original 
concealment.  Finally 
we  must  not  overlook 
the  superstitious  dread 


Woman  of  the  Azandeh,  or  Nyam-Nyams. 
Richard  Buchta. ) 


(From  a  photograph  by 


of  the  possible  effects  of  the  evil  eye,  though  here  again  this  cannot  be  rightly 
assigned  as  the  root-idea  of  modesty.  Curiously  enough,  in  New  Guinea  no 
more  than  in  ancient  Greece  do  the  representations  of  ancestors,  with  their  free 
exhibition  of  what  in  the  living  is  carefully  concealed,  seem  to  give  any  offence 
But  a  these  various  causes  tend  to  react  upon  and  supplement  each  other 
mutually.  Further,  no  relation  can  be  traced  between  the  amount  of  clothine 
worn  and  the  degree  of  culture  attained.  The  lady  of  Uganda  or  Unyoro 
who  drapes  herself  with  elaborate  care  in  her  robes  of  bark,  stands  in  gerieral 


CLOTHING  AND   ORNAMENT 


95 


no  higher  than  the  Nj^am-Nyam  negress,  whose  sole  garment  is  a  leaf.  Nor 
do  the  former  race,  who  treat  it  as  a  capital  offence  to  strip  in  public,  hold  any 
higher  position  than  the  Duallas,  \\'ho  take  off  every  rag  for  their  work  in  the 
sea.  Nor,  lastly,  do  we  find  any  marked  national  distinctions  in  these  matters. 
All  things  considered,  we  may  say  that  in  mankind  of  to-day  modesty  is  universal  ; 
and  where  it  seems  to  be  lacking,  this  is  due  to  some  accidental  or  transitory 
conditions. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  feeling  which 
the  simple  man  is  endeavouring  to  satisfy 
when  he  clothes  his  body.  Next  to  it  stands 
the  gratification  of  vanity.  The  former 
motive,  as  a  mere  injunction  of  custom,  is 
quickly  done  with  ;  the  other  is  sought  to 
be  attained  at  any  cost.  One  may  say  with- 
out exaggeration  that  many  races  spend  the 
greater  part  of  their  thought  and  their  labour 
on  the  adornment  of  their  persons.  These 
are  in  their  own  sphere  greater  fops  than 
can  be  found  in  the  highest  civilization.  The 
traders  who  deal  with  these  simple  folk  know 
how  quickly  the  fashions  change  among 
them,  as  soon  as  a  plentiful  importation  of 
varied  stuffs  and  articles  of  ornament  takes 
place.  The  natural  man  will  undergo  any 
trouble,  any  discomfort,  in  order  to  beautify 
himself  to  the  best  of  his  power. 

Thus  it  would  obviously  be  unjust  to 
form  any  judgment  as  to  the  absence  or 
deficiency  of  clothing  without  regard  to  the 
other  attentions  which  the  "  natural "  races 
pay  to  the  body.  If  we  look  at  all  together 
we  get  an  impression  of  predominant  frivolity. 
Necessaries  have  to  gi\'e  way  to  luxuries. 
The  poorest  Bushman  makes  himself  an 
arm-ring  out  of  a  strip  of  hide,  and  never 
forgets  to  wear  it,  though  it  may  well  happen 
that  his  leather  apron  is  in  a  scandalously  tattered  state.  The  man  of  low  culture 
demands  much  more  luxury  compared  with  his  small  means  than  one  in  a  higher 
stage.  Ornament  holds  such  a  foremost  place  that  some  ethnologists  have 
declared  it  impossible  to  decide  where  clothing  ends  and  ornament  begins.  All 
clothing  seems  to  them  to  have  proceeded  by  way  of  modification  from  ornament ; 
and  they  hold  that  modesty  played  no  part  in  the  earliest  evolution  of  dress. 
The  facts  no  doubt  show  that  the  delight  in  ornament  preponderates  over  the 
sense  of  decency  ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  it  was  anterior. 

Modesty  in  the  woman  is  especially  apt  to  take  on  a  touch  of  coquetry,  for 
an  example  of  which  we  need  look  no  further  than  the  low-necked  dresses  of  our 
own  ball-rooms.  In  this  way  what  was  once  an  article  essential  to  decency  imper- 
ceptibly approximates  more  and  more  to  ornament  by  the  addition  of  fringes,  or. 


Princess  of  Unyoro,  dressed  in  baric-cloth, 
a  photograph  by  Richard  Buchta. ) 


(From 


96 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


as  among  the  Fans  and  some  of  the  Congo  tribes,  by  the  attachment  of  strings 
of  jingling  bells.  Even  more  grotesque  combinations  of  concealment  and  parade 
may  be  observed  ;  especially  where  there  is  a  religious  motive  for  the  former. 

The  style  and  completeness  of  the  clothing  naturally  depends  in  great  measure 
upon  the  extent  to  which  Nature  or  labour  has  provided  material.  All  countries 
are  not  so   benevolently  furnished  in  this  respect  as  tropical  Brazil,  where  the 


\''illage  chief  of  the  Loango  coast,  with  wife  and  dignitary.      (From  a  photograph  by  Dr.  Fallcenstein. ) 

"shirt-tree,"  a  kind  of  Lecythis,  grows  with  its  pliant  and  easily-stripped  bark. 
The  Indians  cut  up  the  stem  into  lengths  of  4  or  5  feet,  strip  the  bark  off,  soak 
and  beat  it  soft,  cut  two  armholes,  and  the  shirt  is  ready.  In  the  same  forests 
grows  a  palm,  the  spathe  of  which  provides  a  convenient  cap  without  further 
preparation.  The  fig-leaf  of  Paradise  recurs  in  a  thousand  variations,  and 
celebrates  its  revival  by  appearing  in  manifold  forms,  even  to  the  universal 
rush-cloak. 

The  use  of  bark  as  a  clothing  material  is,  or  was,  widely  spread  from  Polynesia 
to  the  west  coast  of  Africa.      It  recurs  in  America,  and  thus  is  found  in  all  lands 


CLOTHING  AND   ORNAMENT 


97 


within  the  tropics  ;  and  besides  this,  the  bast  or  inner  bark  of  the  lime  was  used 
for  a  similar  purpose  in  old  days  by  Germanic  tribes.  The  laws  of  Manu 
prescribe  to  the  Brahman  who  purposes  to  end  his  days  in  religious  meditation 
amid  the  primeval  forests,  that  he  shall  wear  a  garment  of  bark  or  skin.  Here 
probably,  as  in  Africa,  the  bark  of  a  species  of  Ficus  was  used  for  the  purpose.  But 
in  Polynesia  the  manufacture  of  a  material  called  tapa  from  the  bark  of  the  paper- 
mulberry  was  carried  to  great  perfection.  Races  who  no  longer  make  use  of  this 
material  procure  it  for  special  occasions.  Thus  the  more  settled  Kayans  of  Borneo, 
when  they  go  into  mourning,  throw  off 
their  cotton  sarongs  to  wrap  themselves 
in  bark -cloth  ;  and  on  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  at  certain  festivities  connected 
with  fetish-worship,  it  is  usual  to  wear 
skins  instead  of  clothes.  In  this  there 
lies  a  perfectly  right  sentiment,  that  these 
home  -  invented  garments,  borrowed 
directly  from  Nature,  have  a  higher 
intrinsic  value  than  the  rubbishy  Euro- 
pean fripperies,  the  invasion  of  which 
has  made  clothing  arbitrary  and  un- 
dignified. 

How  little  the  great  schoolmistress 
Want  can  impress  upon  the  "  natural " 
races  that  seriousness  which  behaves 
appropriately  at  the  bidding  of  hardship, 
is  shown  by  comparing  the  dwellers  in 
a  severe  climate  with  those  who  live 
under  more  genial  skies.  The  South 
Australians  and  Tasmanians  hardly 
^\ore  more  clothes  than  the  Papuas. 
Considering  the  abundance  of  animals, 
we  can  only  refer  the  scantiness  of  their 
attire  to  laziness.  The  Fuegians  who 
are  best  situated,  those  of  the  east  coast, 
wear  guanaco  cloaks  like  the  Patagonians,  and  those  of  the  west  coast,  have  at 
least  seal-skins  ;  but  among  the  tribes  near  Wollaston  Island  a  piece  of  otter- 
skin,  hardly  as  large  as  a  pocket-handkerchief,  often  forms  the  only  protection 
against  the  rude  climate.  Fastened  across  the  breast  with  strings,  it  is  pushed 
to  one  side  or  another,  according  as  the  wind  blows.  But  many,  says  Darwin, 
go  without  even  this  minimum  of  protection.  Only  the  Arctic  races,  always  in- 
ventive and  sensible,  have  in  this,  as  in  other  matters,  better  adapted  themselves  to 
the  demands  of  their  surroundings  and  their  climate  ;  and  their  clothing  of  furs 
and  bird-skins  is  in  any  case  among  the  most  rational  and  practical  inventions 
in  this  class.  They  are,  however,  the  only  "  natural "  races  of  the  temperate  or 
frigid  zones  whose  clothing  is  completely  adapted  to  its  purpose.  The  outliers 
of  them  in  the  North  Pacific,  such  as  the  inhabitants  of  King  William's  Sound 
and  others,  may  be  recognised   at  once  beside   their  Indian  neighbours  by  their 


Cap  made  of  a  palm-spathe,  from  Brazil. 
(Munich  Ethnographical  Museum. ) 


clothing. 


The  Eskimo  dress,  which  covers  the  whole  body,  obviously  limits  the 

H 


98 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


use  of  ornament.      Hence  we  never  find  arm  or  leg-rings,  and  only  rarely  necklaces 
of  animal's  teeth  or  European  beads  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  buttons,  like  sleeve- 


Bawenda  children  belonging  to  a  mission  school.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of 
Dr.  Wangemann,  Berlin). 


Vur  and  bird  skin  clothmg  of  the  Amu.      (Collection  of  Baron  von  Siebold,  Vienna 


na. ) 


buttons,  of  stone  or  bone,  not  uncommonly  decorate  lips  and  ears.     The  fact  that 
they  tattoo  the  body,  however,  indicates  a  former  residence  in  a  warmer  climate. 


CLOTHING  AND   ORNAMENT 


99 


Footgear  is  universally  worn  on  the  march  ;  it  is  generally  made  of  hide,  less 
often  of  wood  or  bark.  Curiously  enough  the  method  of  fastening  sandals  is 
essentially  the  same  all  the  world  over. 

Among  "  natural "  races  no  one  goes  without  ornament ;  the  contrary  to  what 
we  find  among  civilized  people,  many  of  whom,  rich  and  poor  alike,  avoid  any 
ornamentation,  either  of  their   person    or  of   their   clothing.     But  the  universal 


Woman  of  New  South  Wales.      (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of 
Lieutenant  von  Biilow,  BerUn. ) 

distribution  of  ornament  seems  easier  when  we  consider  its  by -aims.  In  the 
first  place  the  amulets,  which  are  hardly  ever  missing,  assume  the  shape  of 
decorations.  Hildebrandt,  in  his  admirable  work  on  the  Wakamba,  says : 
"  Amulets  are  regarded  as  defensive  weapons,  and  so,  in  a  treatise  on  ethnography, 
deserve  a  place  between  weapons  and  ornaments."  But  they  have  more  affinity 
with  the  latter  than  with  the  former.  The  fan  is  used  not  only  to  flirt,  nor  only 
even  for  purposes  of  coolness,  but  is  an  indispensable  implement  in  kindling  and 
maintaining  the  charcoal  fire.  The  massive  iron  arm-rings,  with  which  the  negro 
bedecks  himself,  are  adapted  for  both  parrying  and  striking.     The  Irengas  of  the 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Upper  Nile  wear  these  sharpened  to  a  knife-like  edge.  In  peace  they  are  covered 
with  a  leather  sheath,  in  battle  they  serve  as  fighting-rings.  Of.  a  similar  kind 
are  the  arm-rings  of  the  neighbouring  Jurs,  fitted  with  a  pair  of  spikes.  The 
smart  dagger  attached  to  the  upper  arm  or  hung  from  the  neck  is  half  weapon,  half 

ornament.  But  we  must 
reckon  among  genuinely  de- 
corative weapons  the  beau- 
tifully-carved clubs  of  the 
Melanesians  and  negroes, 
the  batons  of  command, 
the  decorated  paddles.  The 
savage  warrior  can  no  more 
do  without  ornament  than 
without  his  weapon.  Are 
we  to  suppose  that  this 
connection  has  so  deep  a 
psychological  basis  in  the 
stimulus  to  self-esteem  and 
courage  given  by  external 
splendour,  that  it  has 
reached  even  to  the  heights 
of  our  own  military  civiliza- 
tion ? 

Ornament  and  distinc- 
tion again  go  hand  in 
hand,  though  for  this  brilliancy  and  costliness  are  not  always  necessary.  In  East 
and  Central  Africa  the  chiefs  wear  arm  and  leg-rings  made  from  the  hair  of  the 


Leg  ornaments  of  dogs'  teeth,  and  shell  armlet,  from  Hawaii. 
( Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum. ) 


Sandal  from  Unyoro.      (After  Baker. ) 

giraffe's  tail ;  in  West  Africa,  caps  from  the  hide  of  a  particular  antelope  •  while 
m  Tonga,  necklaces  of  the  cachalot  or  sperm-whale's  teeth  serve  at  once  for 
ornament,  distinction,  and  money— perhaps  also  for  amulets.  It  is  quite  intel- 
ligible that  in  the  lower  grades  of  civilization,  where  even  great  capitalists  can 
carry  their  property  on  their  persons,  ornament  and  currency  should  be  inter- 
changeable. There  is  no  safer  place— none  where  the  distinction  conferred  by 
wealth  can  be  more  effectively  displayed— than  the  owner's  person.  Hence  the 
frequency  with  which  we  find  forms  of  currency  which  may  at  the  same  time  serve 


2.  Stone  lip-plugs  ;  3,  6,  necklaces  ;  4,  armlet,  worn  by  the  Jur  tribes  ; 
of  the  Shulisi      (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum. 


armlet  ;   7    head-dress 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Irenga  arm  -  ring,  with  sheath.  One- 
fourth  real  size.  (Vienna  Ethnographical 
Museum. ) 


Paddle-shaped  clubs,  probably  from  Fiji ;  and  carved  adzes,  as  carried  by  chiefs 
from  the  Hervey  Islands.  ( Munich  Ethnographical  Museum. )  2.  Dagger  for 
attachmg  to  the  upper  arm,  from  Lagos.      (Christy  Collection,  London  ) 


for  ornament — cowries,  dentaliutn,  and  other  shells, 
cachalots'  teeth,  iron  and  copper  rings,  coins  with 
a  hole  through  them.  Silver  and  gold  currencies 
have  grown  up  in  the  same  way  ;  but  among  the 
barbarous  races  of  the  older  world,  only  the 
Americans  seem  to  have  appreciated  the  value  of 
gold.  It  was  left  for  Europeans  to  discover  the 
great  stores  of  this  metal  in  Australia,  California, 
and  Africa.  To  this  day,  in  the  districts  of 
Famaka  and  Fadasi,  although  almost  every 
torrent  brings  down  gold,  it  plays  no  part  in 
native  ornament  or  trade. 

Lastly,  we  may  reflect  how  eloquent  for  a 
savage  is  the  silent  language  of  bodily  mutilation 
and  disfigurement.  As  Th^ophile  Gautier  says  : 
"  Having  no  clothes  to  embroider,  they  embroider 
their  skiii.'^."  Tattooing  serves  for  a  tribal 
or  famih'  mark  ;  it  often  indicates  victorious 
campaigns,  or  announces  a  lad's  arrival  at 
manhood,  and  so  also  do  various  mutila- 
tions of  teeth  and  artificial  scars.  Radiating 
or  parallel  lines  of  scars  on  cheek  or  breast, 
SLiclt  as  the  Australians  produce  with  no 
other  apparent  ob- 
ject save  that  of 
ornament,  denote 
among  the  Shillooks, 
Tibboos,  and  other 
Africans,  the  loss  of 
near  kindred.  Even 
if  we  cannot  see  in 
circumcision,  or  the 
amputation  of  a 
finger,  any  attempt 
at  personal  embel- 
lishment, in  these 
and  similar  practices 
it  is  diflficult  to 
separate  with  a  hard- 
and  -  fast  line  the 
motives  of  decora- 
tion, distinction,  and 
fulfilment  of  a  reli- 
^^gious  or  social  pre- 
cept. Doubtless  much 
of  the  ornamentation 
which  is  applied  to 
the  body  is  a  mode 


CLOTHING  AND   ORNAMENT 


103 


of  expressing  the  primitive  artistic  impulse  upon  which  special  attention  is 
bestowed  ;  and  thus  the  tattooings  of  the  New  Zealanders,  often  the  work  of  years 
to  execute,  and  that  at  the  cost  of  much  labour  and  pain,  must  be  reckoned 
among  the  most  conspicuous  achievements  of  the  artistic  sense  and  dexterity  of 
that  race.  The  Indians  are  less  distinguished  in  this  respect,  while  among  the 
Negroes  few  devote  so  much  attention  to  this  branch  of  art  as  to  the  arrangement 
of  their  hair — a  point  in  which  they  certainly  surpass  all  races,  being  materially 
aided  in  this  task  by  the  stiff  character  of  their  wigs. 

As  in  all  primitive  industries,  we  meet  here,  as  a  characteristic  phenomenon, 
with  endless  variations  on  a  limited  theme.  Thus  some  races  take  to  painting, 
some  to  tattooing,  some  again  to  hairdressing.      Customs  affecting  the  same  region 


Modes  of  hairdi'essing,  LovaM.     (After  Cameron. ) 


of  the  body  may  often  indicate  relationships.  Thus  the  Batokas  knock  out  their 
upper  front  teeth,  causing  the  lower  to  project  and  push  out  the  under  lip.  Their 
neighbours  to  the  eastward,  the  Manganyas,  wear  a  plug  in  their  upper  lip,  often 
in  the  lower,  and  thereby  arrive  at  a  similar  disfigurement.  These  luxuriant 
developments  of  the  impulse  for  ornament  exhibit  the  innate  artistic  sense  of  a 
race  often  in  an  astonishing  phase,  and  it  is  not  without  interest  to  trace  it  from 
its  crudest  beginnings.  The  articles  which  savages  use  for  ornament  are  calculated 
to  show  up  against  their  dark  skins.  White  shells,  teeth,  and  such  like,  produce 
a  veiy  different  effect  on  that  background  to  what  they  offer  on  our  pale  hands  or 
in  dark  cabinets.  Hence  we  find  far  and  wide  painting  with  red  and  white — 
cosmetics  were  among  the  objects  buried  with  their  dead  by  the  old  Egyptians — 
dressing  of  the  dark  hair  with  white  lime  and  similar  artifices.  But  the  highest 
summit  of  the  art  has  been  attained  by  the  Monbuttus,  who,  in  the  great  variety 
of  patterns  with  which  they  paint  their  bodies,  avoid  harsh  colours  and  elementary 
stripes  and  dots.  The  old  people  alone  leave  off  adorning  themselves  and  let  the 
painting  wear  out ;  but  it  is  at  this  age  that  the  indelible  tattooing  begins  to  be 
valuable. 


104 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Among  one  and  the  same  race,  special  decorative  themes  are  generally  adhered 
to  most  rigidly,  and  varied  only  within  narrow  limits.  We  must,  however,  beware 
of  the  temptation  to  read  too  much  conscious  intention  into  these  manifold 
ornaments.  In  face  of  the  tendency  of  prehistoric  research  to  treat  particular 
themes  as  the  signatures,  so  to  say,  of  the  respective  races,  it  is  necessary  specially 
to  emphasise  the  space  to  be  allowed  for  the  play  of  caprice.      It  is  true  that  you 

can  always  tell  a  Tongan  club  by  the 
little  human  figures  which  stand  out 
in  the  mosaic-like  carved  pattern  ;  but 
here  we  have  to  deal  with  a  limited 
area  of  culture,  within  which  a  great 
persistency  of  tradition  can  easily  be 
aimed  at.  But  would  any  one  take 
the  cross,  which  is  so  natural  a  motive 
in  matted  work,  as  it  appears  on  the 
beautifully  woven  shields  of  the  Nyam- 
Nyams,  for  an  imitation  of  the  Christian 
symbol,  or  ascribe  the  crescent  on 
Polynesian  carved  work  to  the  influ- 
ence of  Islam  ? 

Among  the  other  advantages  en- 
joyed by  the  male  sex  is  that  of  cul- 
tivating every  kind  of  adornment  to 
a  greater  extent,  and  devoting  more 
time  to  it.  In  the  lowest  groups  of 
savages  ornament  follows  the  rule 
which  is  almost  universal  among  the 
higher  animals  ;  the  male  is  the  more 
richly  adorned.  As  is  well  known, 
civilization  has  pretty  well  reversed 
this  relation,  and  the  degree  of  progress  to  which  a  race  has  attained  may  to 
some  extent  be  measured  by  the  amount  of  the  sacrifice  which  the  men  are 
prepared  to  make  for  the  adornment  of  their  women.  Otherwise,  in  the  most 
civilized  communities,  men  only  revert  to  the  custom  of  ^^--- 
adorning  themselves  when  they  happen  to  be  soldiers  or  ^"^^7^^ 
attendants  at  court.  X^^^^amijjj.^^ 

A  practical  result  of  the  tendency  to  luxury  in  the  midst  West  African  :node  of  filing 
ot  destitution  is  the  confinement  of  trade  with  the  "  natural  "  -      - 

races  to   a    small    list    of  articles,  the    number    of  which   is 


West  African  body-tattooing.      (From  a  drawing  by 
P^chuel-Loesche. ) 


the  teeth.     (From  a  draw- 
ing by  the  same. ) 


almost  entirely  limited  by  the  purposes  of  ornament  or  pastime  and  sensual 
enjoyment.  Of  trade  in  the  great  necessaries  of  food  and  clothing  there  is 
hardly  any.  The  objects  exchanged,  things  of  value  and  taste,  are  primarily 
luxuries.  Setting  aside  the  partly  civilized  inhabitants  of  the  coast,  and  the 
European  colonies,  the  important  articles  of  the  African  trade  are  beads  brass 
wire,  brass  and  iron  rings,  spirits,  tobacco.  The  only  articles  in  a  different 
category  which  have  attained  to  any  importance  are  cotton  goods  and  firearms. 

Finally  we  may  find  a  place  in  this  section  for  those  implements  of  the  toilet 
wherewith  all  those  works  of  art  are  performed  upon  which  primitive  man,  in  this 


CLOTHING  AND    ORNAMENT 


105 


respect  nowise  behind   his   civilized   brother,  bases   his  hope  of 

quering.     Let  us  hear  how  Schweinfurth  describes  the  dressing 

lady :  "  For  pulling  out  eyelashes  and  eyebrows  they  make  use 

Peculiar  to  the  women  of  the 

Bongos  are  the  curious  little 

elliptical  knives  fitted  into  a 

handle  at  both  ends,  sharpened 

on  both  edges  and  decorated 

with  tooling  in  many  patterns. 

These  knives  the  women  use 

for  all  their  domestic  opera 

tions,    especially    for    peeling 

tubers,  slicing  cucumbers  and 


pleasing 
case  of 
of  little 


and  con- 
a  Bongo 
tweezers. 


I.    r_rt'_! hJ.l  combs  from  Pelew.     One  half  real  size.     (Kubary  Collection,  Berlin.' 

a.  Azandeh  or  Nyam-Nyam  shield.     One-tenth  real  size.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum. ) 

gourds,  and  the  like.  Rings,  bells  of  different  kinds,  clasps,  and  buttons,  which 
are  stuck  into  holes  bored  in  their  lips  and  ear  lobes  ;  with  lancet-shaped  hairpins, 
which  seem  necessary  for  parting  and  dividing  their  plaits,  complete  the  Bongo 
lady's  dressing-case."  A  pair  of  tweezers  for  thorns,  in  a  case  attached  to  the 
dagger-sheath,  forms  part  of  the  outfit  in  almost  all  parts  of  Africa.  Many  carry 
a  porcupine's  bristle  or  an  ivory  pin  stuck  into  the  hair  to  keep  it  smooth. 
Combs  are  well  known  to  the  Polynesians,  the  Arctic  races,  and  the  Negroes. 

While  the  civilized  European  regards  cleanliness  as  the  best  adornment,  even 
the  Oriental  is  very  far  from  giving  it  a  high  place.      Barbarous  races  practise  it 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


when  it  does  not  cost  too  much  trouble.  In  certain  directions,  however,  it  can 
become  a  custom  ;  for  example,  the  negro  pays  much  more  attention  to  keepmg 
his  teeth  clean  than  the  average  European.  The  horror  of  ordure  is  often  in 
truth  superstitious,  and  in  that  case  contributes  to  keep  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
huts  cleanly.  Furneaux  was  astonished  to  see  latrines  among  the  Maoris.  But 
what  especially  promotes  cleanliness  is  the  absence  or  scantiness  of  clothing. 
Dirt  as  a  general  rule  is  principally  met  with  among  such  races  as  are  compelled 
by  uncertainty  of  climate  or  by  custom  to  keep  their  bodies  always  covered.  A 
daily  change  will  involve  rapid  wearing  out,  and  for  this  reason  they  usually 
wear  their  clothes,  as  Jenghis  Khan  prescribed,  until  they  drop  off  in  tatters. 
In  the  most  intimate  family  life,  however,  a  reserve  prevails  among  natural  races 
which  puts  their  civilized  brethren  to  shame.  Among  Negroes,  Malays,  and 
Indians,  it  is  a  widespread  custom  that  parents  and  children  should  not  sleep  in 
the  same  room. 


§   II.  HABITATIONS 

The  first  huts — Germs  of  buildings  in  wood  and  stone — Temporary  character  of  most  hut  architecture — His- 
torical value  of  permanent  building — Classification  of  the  natural  races  according  to  their  style  of  building 
— Shelter  as  a  motive — Pile  buildings — Assemblage  of  habitations — The  ethnographic  importance  of  towns 
— Various  descriptions  of  towns — Ruins  of  towns  and  of  civilizations. 

The  germ  of  architecture,  the  first  hut,  was  called  into  existence  by  a  need  which 
is  primitive  and  universal.  No  race  lives  for  a  continuance  in  hollow  trees,  as 
certain  of  the  Tasmanians  did  in  Cook's  time,  or  as  the  scattered  Bechuanas 
in  the  Matabele  kingdom.  That  first  hut  was  no  doubt  very  simple  and  perish- 
able. Architecture  in  the  real  sense,  that  is  building  made  to  last,  and  sub- 
sequently decorated  edifices,  lie  nearer  to  the  present  time.  In  the  somewhat 
vague  statement  of  Laprade,  "  the  birth  of  architecture,  the  building  of  the  first 
temple,  marks  the  beginning  of  the  historical  period,"  the  ethnographer  will  find 
a  somewhat  narrow  notion  of  a  temple  in  view  of  the  fetish  huts  of  the  Central 
Africans  or  the  Melanesians  ;  for  him  the  step  beyond  the  most  primitive  hut- 
building  begins  much  earlier. 

The  first  germ  from  which,  in  later  times,  the  inspiring  grandeur  of  architecture 
was  to  unfold  itself,  lay  in  the  need  of  shelter.  We  may  mention  first  the  ways 
in  which  this  need  drives  men  to  rely  on  Nature.  We  shall  have  to  speak  of  the 
almost  brute-like  habit  of  living  in  trees  found  among  many  races.  The  use  of 
pendent  branches,  which  are  hastily  plaited  together  and  strengthened,  as  among 
the  half  nomad  Bushmen,  is  nearly  akin  to  it.  By  cutting  down  branches  or 
saplings,  sticking  them  in  the  ground  in  a  circle,  binding  together  the  upper  ends, 
and  roofing  this  hasty  edifice  with  boughs  or  skins,  is  the  next  step  towards 
simple  hut-building  as  we  find  it  among  Fuegians  and  Hottentots,  Gallas  and 
Somali.  Hence  we  are  brought  by  a  long  series  of  more  permanent  and 
gradually  more  decorated  buildings  to  the  richly  ornamented  wooden  houses  of 
the  Papuas  and  Malays,  or  the  Pelew  Islanders,  and  the  stoneless  palaces  of  the 
Monbuttu  or  Waganda  kings.  The  kindred  germ  of  stone  architecture  was  given 
by  the  habit  of  dwelling  in  caves,  widely  spread  in  primitive  times,  and  not  yet 
obsolete.      It  has  an  advantage  in  the  durability  of  the  material,  counterbalanced 


HABIT  A  TIONS 


107 


by  its  lesser  adaptability  to  decoration  and  ornament.  But  the  advantage  out- 
weighs the  disadvantage,  for  as  soon  as  an  effort  is  made  in  the  direction  of  taste, 
it  was  easier  to  satisfy  in  the  matter  of  symmetry,  which  is  the  fundamental 
condition  of  all  architectural  beauty. 

How  little  the  hard  pressure  of  necessity  can  do  to  call  forth  a  greater  activity 
in  satisfying  those  demands  for  shelter  and  food,  which  are  most  imperious  where 
the  climate  is  most  harsh  and  the  plant  and  animal  world  most  scanty,  is  shown 
by  the  case  of  the  Fuegians  who,  incredible  as  it  may  sound,  build  not  more,  but 


Caves  of  the  Bushmen.     (After  Fritsch. ) 

less,  than  more  favourably  situated  races.  So,  too,  the  Tasmanians  must  be  indi- 
cated as  having  been  the  most  backward  of  all  Australasians  in  hut-building.  In 
Australia  itself  it  is  surprising  to  see  how  it  is  just  in  the  warmest  regions  that 
hut-building  has  made  most  progress  ;  while  it  is  most  wretched  in  the  coldest 
parts,  where  the  hut  is  in  fact  a  protection  rather  for  the  fire  than  for  the  people. 
When  we  find  a  similar  fact  recurring  elsewhere,  as  we  do  in  South  America  and 
South  Africa,  it  establishes  with  all  the  force  of  an  experiment  that  it  is  not  the 
schoolmistress  need  that  has  most  power  to  compel  a  progress  towards  culture, 
but  that  it  is  only  in  a  tranquil  development  guaranteed  by  peace  and  plenty  that 
the  higher  stages,  even  in  the  matter  of  hut  and  housebuilding,  can  be  reached. 

What  is  required  ■  above  all  is  continuity.  Nomadism  strikes  deeper  than  we 
realise  into  the  lives  of  even  agricultural  races.  The  famous  art  of  constructing 
dwellings  rapidly  in  bee-hive  style,  that  form  of  hut  used  by  Hottentots  and 
Bechuanas,  which   pre-supposes  access   to   the  flexible  half-grown   stems  of  the 


io8 


THE   HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


mimosa,  only  shows  that  the  distinction  between  the  hut  and  the  tent  is  as  yet 
not  fully  appreciated.  These  edifices  disappear  as  quickly  as  they  spring  up. 
The  most  symmetrical  and  most  elegant  huts  used  by  Negroes,  even  though,  as 
on  the  Upper  Nile,  their  ground-plan,  form  of  roof,  proportions,  vary  from  one 
tribe  to  another,  are  often  hastily  run  up  "of  reeds  and  grass.  Nothing  but  their 
temporary  character  prevents  the  development  of  a  style  of  art  relying  on  types 
and  creating  new  works  on  the  basis  of  the  old.      The  destructive  force  of  Nature 

comes  as  additional  to  the  perishable 
character  of  the  structure.  Everywhere 
in  tropical  latitudes  the  flimsy  dwellings 
are  subject  to  speedy  decay  by  reason 
of  boring  beetles,  devouring  ants, 
tropical  storms.  Nor  do  the  human 
inhabitants  in  any  way  cleave  to  the 
soil ;  on  the  contrary,  they  regulate 
their  mode  of  life  quite  in  the  sense  of 
Nature,  with  whom  "  all  things  are  in 
flux,"  and,  instead  of  restoring  their 
dwellings,  they  desert  them  in  order 
without  trouble  to  get  virgin  soil  for 
cultivation.  Junker  found  in  the  Bahr- 
el-Ghazal  country  hardly  any  of  the 
zeribas  which  Schweinfurth  had  so 
precisely  indicated.  After  a  very  few 
years  what  was  once  a  well-ordered 
settlement  displays  at  most  a  few  posts 
standing  in  circles,  and  weeds  sprouting 
ever  afresh  from  the  seeds  of  what  once 
were  cultivated  plants. 

There  is  nothing  monumental  about 
negro  architecture,  and  for  that  very 
reason  anything  durable  is  all  the  more 
conspicuously  significant  in  that  land 
of  nomadic  building.  The  granite  of 
Syene,  the  black  limestone  of  Persepolis, 
which  have  retained  even  to  our  days 


Tree-dwellings  in  South  India.     (After  Jagor. ) 


the  most  delicate  sculpture  and  the  smoothest  polish,  are  of  high  historical 
significance  as  trustworthy  props  and  bearers  of  tradition.  They  witness  to  the 
truth  of  a  remark  of  Herder's  :  "  No  work  of  art  has  died  in  the  history  of 
mankind."  How  great  an  influence  has  been  produced  on  us  by  the  fact  that 
those  remains,  so  far  removed  both  in  place  and  time  from  the  modern  civilization 
of  the  Nile  valley,  have  been  handed  down  to  us  uninjured  ?  But  how  much 
greater  was  the  value  of  these  stony  witnesses  of  the  greatness,  the  deeds,  the 
religion,  the  knowledge  of  their  nation,  for  the  people  who  walked  beneath  them  ? 
This  hard  stone  gave  as  it  were  a  skeleton  to  tradition,  to  guard  it  from 
premature  collapse.  In  any  case  the  fact  of  settlement  in  stone  houses,  vying  in 
firmness  with  the  solid  earth,  had  a  significance  very  different  from  that  of  settle- 
ment in  huts  of  bamboo  and  brushwood. 


HABITA  TIONS 


109 


In  any  classification  of  races  according  to  their  method  of  building,  the  lowest 
grade  will  be  held  by  nomadic  hunting  and  fishing  peoples  of  the  type  of  the 
Fuegians,  the  Bushmen,  the  Tasmanians,  and  many  Australians,  who  inhabit  no 
huts  built  on  a  fixed  plan  or  placed  regularly  together  in  villages,  but  put  up 
temporary  shelters  of  brushwood  and  reeds.  The  tent-dwelling  nomads,  whether 
their  tents  be  of  leather  like  those  of  the  Arabs,  or  of  felt,  the  Mongol  or  Sifan 
yaourts,  so  far  as  plan  goes,  are  not  much  superior  to  those  above-mentioned  ; 
but  the  necessity  of  guarding  their  herds  has  made  it  a  characteristic  of  them  all 


Fishing  village  on  the  Melcong.      (From  a  photograph 


to  be  arranged  in  a  circle  ;  and  thus  has  grown  up  the  more  regular  disposition 
inside  of  a  fence  or  boundary  wall,  with  gates.  These  again  suggest  those  partly 
agricultural,  partly  nomadic  Negroes  who  build  huts  of  beehive  or  conical  shape, 
in  the  most  various  stages  of  perfection.  The  Negroes  of  Central  Africa  who,  from 
Ugogo  all  across  to  the  Fan  and  Dualla  countries,  build  rectangular  houses  with 
several  rooms  and  ornamented  doors,  form  the  transition  to  the  Malays  of 
Madagascar  and  the  Indian  Archipelago,  and  to  the,  races  of  the  Pacific,  whose 
richly-ornamented  and  often  large  houses,  very  various  in  design,  offer  the  most 
perfect  work  found  in  the  way  of  timber-building  among  "  natural  "  races.  Among 
them,  however,  we  find  at  the  same  time  (as  on  Easter  Island)  the  beginnings  of 
masonry  in  connection  with  monumental  sculpture.  The  Polar  races  live  in  stone 
buildings  or  in  huts  in  which  snow  takes  the  place  of  wood.  A  zone  of  stone 
houses  with  several  stories  passes  through  India,  Arabia,  and  the  Berber  regions 
of  Africa.      Contiguous  stone  houses  for  hundreds  of  families  occur  among  the 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  ;  and  these  bring  us  to  the  great  monumentaj 
buildings  of  the  races  who  were  outside  the  sphere  of  Old-world  culture,  as  the 
Mexicans,  Central  Americans,  and  inhabitants  of  the  South  American  plateaux. 


^iy.^rh^§:i 


The  so  caUed      Dwarf  s  House     at  Chichen  Itza      (After  Charnaj  ) 


ndependently  of  all  these  variations,  special  kinds  of  habitation  and  building 
develop  themselves  from  the  fundamental  idea  of  shelter.  Men  were  led  to 
found  permanent  abodes  in  the  water— not  that  of  the  insecure  and  violent  sea  but 
always  only  m  calm  inland  lakes  or  rivers  with  gentle  current— at  first  obviously 
by  the  wish  to  protect  themselves  from  beasts  of  prey  and  enemies  of  their  own 


HABITATIONS 


species  ;  but  later,  and  on  higher  planes  of  civilization,  with  the  view  of  avoiding 
the  crush  and  pressure  of  great  assemblages  of  human  beings  in  a  limited  space, 
as  in  China  with  its  excessive  population,  and  some  parts  of  Further  India.  In 
the  former  case  the  favourite  method  of  surrounding  oneself  with  the  protecting 
water  was  to  build  on  piles  and  platforms  ;  in  the  other,  large  rafts  or  condemned 
barges  served  for  dwellings,  whence  again  pile  buildings  were  evolved,  but  on  a 
larger  scale  than  in  the  former  stage,  which  is  marked  rather  by  isolation,  than 
by  crowding.  Even  in  our  own  days  pile-dwellings  are  numerous  ;  they  are 
built  by  most  of  the  races  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  by  Melanesians,  most  of 
the  Americans  of  the 
North-west,  certain 
tribes  in  Africa  and 
Central  and  South 
America.  We  can 
easily  convince  our- 
selves, if  we  please, 
that  the  phenomenon 
is  no  less  natural  than 
frequent.  Thus  our 
European  pile-dwel- 
lings call  for  no  arti- 
ficial hypotheses  as 
to  specific  pile-build- 
ing races,  Etruscan 
warehouses  for  trade 
goods,  or  the  like. 
In  later  times  the 
idea  of  protection 
may  often  have  be- 
come superfluous  and 
passed  into  oblivion, 
while  the  custom  remained.  Nor  were  piles  always  necessary  for  the  cpnstruc- 
tion  of  such  dwellings  ;  many  other  means  were  employed  to  isolate  and  protect 
dwellings  and  stores.  We  may  recall  the  old  Irish  a-annoges,  or  fenced  villages, 
or  our  modern  cities  built  on  piles — -Amsterdam,  St.  Petersburg,  Venice.,  From 
the  effort  to  gain  the  greatest  possible  security,  together  with  the  desire  for  a 
more  healthy  position,  arises  the  practice  in  vogue  among  traders,  fettled  on 
foreign  shores  to  take  up  their  abode  on  ships  or. hulks,  which  are  rnoored 
out  in  rivers  or  harbours,  and  contain  at  the  same  time  their  warehouses.  In 
a  smaller  measure  the  same  end  is  served  by  the  post-supported  dwellings 
on  dry  land,  very  common  among  the  Malays,  and  to  be  found  in  Africa, 
especially  in  universal  application  to  storehouses.  Livingstone  relates  that  the 
Batokas  on  the  Lower  Zambesi  build  their  huts  on  a  high  framework  in  the 
middle  of  their  gardens,  in  order  to  protect  themselves  from  wild  beasts, 
especially  the  spotted  hyenas.  Tree-dwellings,  as  of  the  Battaks  in  Sumatra, 
of  many  Melanesians,  of  South  Indian  tribes,  come  under  this  head.  They  are 
not  really  a  primitive  stage  ot  dwelling,  comparable  to  the  arboreal  residences 
of  the  orang-outang,  but  arise  simply  from  the  employment  of  trees  as  posts. 


^.Us.'-'^jsS^ 


House  in  Central  Sumatra.      (After  Veth. ) 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


The   huts   which   the   trees    support   often   belong   to   the    best -made   things    of 
their  kind. 

The  effects  of  the  craving  for  protection  reach  neither  far  nor  deep,  when  the 
essence  of  it  is  only  isolation  ;  but  when  it  tends  to  pack  men  together  it  gives 
rise  to  developments  which  have  a  wide  and  mighty  bearing.  The  great  cities 
which  belong  to  the  most  marvellous  results  of  civilization  stand  at  the  further 
end  of  the  effects  produced  by  this  tendency  to  unite  men  and  their  dwellings 
about  a  single  point.  Nothing  will  enable  us  so  well  to  recognise  the  power  of 
the  motive  of  defence  as  a  glance  at  the  situation  of  cities.  We  find  fortified 
villages  crowded  together  on  the  tops  of  mountains  or  on  islands,  in  the  bights 


Village  on  a  tongue  of  land,  Lake  Tanganyika.      (After  Cameron.) 

of  rivers  or  on  tongues  of  land.  Since  most  centres  of  habitation  have  been  laid 
out  at  a  time  when  a  thin  population  was  beginning  to  spread,  and  the  danger 
of  hostile  invasions  was  vividly  before  their  eyes,  considerations  of  defence  are 
often  strongly  stamped  on  their  situation.  We  need  only  set  before  our  minds 
the  way  in  which  nearly  all  the  older  towns  of  Greece  and  Italy  stand  on  the  tops 
or  sides  of  hills,  or  remember  that  nearly  all  the  oldest  maritime  trading  cities 
are  placed  on  islands.  The  tendency  to  pack  together  may' pass  into  an  extreme, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Indian  dwellings  in  Colorado,  combining  the  character  of 
caves  and  castles,  which  shelter  numbers  of  persons  in  the  narrowest  possible 
space,  and  often  are  only  accessible  by  steps  in  the  rock  or  by  ladders. 

A  third  cause  to  be  considered  is  common  interests  in  labour.  These  of 
course  increase  with  the  progress  of  economic  division  of  labour,  until  they  form 
the  principal  cause  which  decides  the  situation  of  an  inhabited  place.  Even  at 
primitive  stages  of  culture  large  populations  assemble  temporarily  in  spots  where 
useful  things  occur  in  quantity.  The  Indians  of  a  great  part  of  North  America 
make  pilgrimages  to  the  beds  of  pipestone  ;  and  we  have  mentioned  the  crowds 
who  go  yearly  to  gather  the  harvest  of  the  zizania  swamps  in  the  north-western 
lakes,  and  the  assemblage  from  all  parts  of  widely-scattered  Australian  tribes  on 


HABITATIONS  ii3 


the  Barcoo  river  for  the  seed-time  of  the  grain-bearing  Marsiliacese.  These  are 
transitory  assemblies.  But  when  once  the  step  is  taken  from  a  roaming  life  to  a 
settled  one,  places  of  just  this  kind  will  be  among  the  first  selected  ;  and  if,  when 
life  has  become  settled,  the  population  increases  and  division  of  labour  comes  in, 
larger  habitations  will  spring  up  until  such  spots  of  the  earth  as  are  furnished  by- 
Nature  with  any  special  wealth  will,  as  the  highest  stages  of  civilization  are 
reached,  show  those  unwontedly  dense  populations — 400  and  upwards  to  the 
square  mile — which  we  meet  with  in  the  fertile  lowlands  of  the  Nile  and  Ganges, 
in  the  coal  and  iron  districts  of  Central  and  Western  Europe,  or  in  the  goldfields 
of  Australia  and  California. 

The  larger  isolated  aggregations,  on  the  contrary,  come  into  existence  at 
definite  points,  which  have  become  points  where  the  streams  of  traffic  meet  or 
intersect.  The  wish  for  exchange  of  goods  first  causes  the  need  for  drawing  as 
near  as  possible ;  traffic  creates  towns.  Everywhere  that  Nature  simplifies  or 
intensifies  traffic  great  assemblages  of  men  spring  up,  whether  as  cities  of  the 
world  like  London,  or  market-towns  like  Nyangwe. 

We  assume  by  a  kind  of  instinct  a  certain  connection  between  cities  and 
higher  culture,  and  not  without  reason,  since  it  is  in  the  cities  that  the  highest 
flower  of  our  culture  declares  itself.  But  the  fact  that  just  this  development  of 
cities  is  so  important  in  China,  shows  that  a  certain  material  culture  is  independent 
of  the  highest  intellectual  culture,  and  gives  an  impressive  lesson  of  the  real 
extent  to  which  cities  help  to  serve  that  life  of  trade  which  is  less  dependent  on 
culture,  nay,  even  for  the  most  part  spring  from  it.  If  cities  are  an  organic 
product'  of  national  life,  they  are  not  always  the  result  of  that  race's  own  force 
to  which  they  belong.  There  are  towns  of  international  trade,  like  Singapore,  or, 
in  a  lesser  degree,  the  Arab  and  Swahili  stations  on  the  coast  of  Madagascar  ; 
or  colonial  towns,  which  are  closely  akin  to  these,  such  as  Batavia,  Zanzibar,  or 
Mombasa.  So  mighty  is  traffic  that  it  bears  with  it  the  organisation  necessary  to 
it  into  the  midst  of  an  alien  nationality ;  so  that  again  whole  races  which  have 
become  organs  of  traffic  bear  the  stamp  of  town  life  on  their  brow.  Most  of  all, 
indeed,  are  the  desert-dwellers  urban  races  ;  for  the  nature  of  their  place  of  abode 
crowds  them  together  around  the  springs,  and  also  for  defence,  and  forces  them 
to  more  durable  building  than  would  be  possible  with  timber  and  brushwood.  The 
fact,  too,  that  the  oases  are  widely  scattered  renders  it  almost  impossible  for  any 
assemblage  of  habitations  to  become  a  centre  of  traffic  in  the  wide-meshed  net  of  the 
desert  roads.  The  first  conquerors  of  an  inhabited  country,  again,  are  often  com- 
pelled to  live  in  towns,  independently  of  traffic  ;  feeling  themselves  secure  only 
in  close  settlements.  Then  in  later  times  these  compulsory  towns  follow  the 
natural  requirements  of  trade,  and  change  their  situation.  Premature  foundation 
of  towns  is  a  symptom  of  young  colonisations  ;  in  North  and  Central  America 
we  may  find  ruined  cities  of  quite  modern  date.  In  the  Chinese  region  of 
colonisation  on  the  frontier  of  nomads  and  Chinese,  along  the  upper  Hoang-ho, 
numerous  ruined  cities  are  characteristic  of  the  zone  where  semi-civilization  comes 
into  contact  with  semi-savagery. 


114  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


§  12.  FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS 

Head  and  family— Polygamy— Position  of  women— Female  rule— "  Mother-right " — Exogamy— Capture  of 
women — Parents  and  children — Morality — Society — Social  inequalities — Slavery — Races  in  bondage — 
Distinctive  character  of  property — Extent  of  the  distinction  in  tropical  countries — Property  in  land — 
Examples  of  various  conceptions  of  private  property — Civilizing  power  of  ownership — Poverty  and  labour 
in  uncivilized  peoples. 

Every  step  towards  higher  development  involves  grouping  in  societies.  The 
Animal  sociale  of  Linnseus  ^  is  justified  by  history,  and  the  most  natural  form  of 
society  is  the  Family.  It  is  the  only  source  from  which  all  social  and  political 
life  can  be  developed.  If  there  was  any  union  before  the  family,  it  was  a  herd, 
but  not  a  state.  The  stability  which  every  political  organisation  capable  of 
development  must  needs  possess,  first  comes  into  existence  with  the  family.  With 
its  development  the  security  for  economic  advantages,  which  forms  the  foundation 
of  all  higher  civilization,  goes  hand  in  hand. 

The  fundamental  basis  of  the  family  is  the  union  of  the  sexes  in  a  common 
home  in  which  the  children  are  brought  up.  Within  the  wide  limits  of  this 
definition  we  find  marriage  universal.  Where  marriage  has  been  supposed  to  be 
absent,  even  among  the  most  promiscuous  nomads  of  the  forest  and  desert,  its 
existence  has  sooner  or  later  been  in  every  case  established.  Extraordinary  as 
has  been  the  spread  of  polygamy,  extending  even  to  the  possession  of  thousands 
of  wives,  as  a  rule  the  establishment  of  the  family  begins  in  the  union  of  one  man 
with  one  woman.  Even  elsewhere,  one  wife  remains  the  first  in  rank,  and  her 
children  have,  as  a  rule,  the  rights  of  primogeniture. 

Marriage  is  an  endeavour  to  bridle  the  strongest  natural  impulse — one  which 
advance  in  civilization  has  as  yet  hardly  diminished.  The  restriction  is  at  all 
stages  and  under  all  circumstances  constantly  being  loosened  or  broken,  and  then 
reimposed  in  new  forms.  Thus  an  enormous  variety  of  shiftings  lies  between  the 
modern  forms  of  monogamy  and  those  survivals  of  old  forms  which  are  referred 
to  group-marriage.  But  all  are  variations  of  the  same  problem,  how  to  bind  man 
and  woman  to  a  lasting  union. 

In  every  great  community  we  find  smaller  groups  of  persons  who  are  dis- 
qualified or  withheld  from  marriage.  Continence  as  a  religious  duty  holds  no 
very  important  place,  though  in  all  parts  of  the  earth  we  find  celibacy  regarded  as 
the  highest  perfection  in  military  and  sacerdotal  organisations.  But  in  a  far  higher 
degree  is  the  natural  development  of  the  family  hindered  by  the  unequal  number  of 
the  sexes.  The  capture  of  women  often  connected  with  slavery,  infanticide,  war,  and 
the  emigration  of  the  men,  bring  about  an  excess  of  women.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  the  relations  prevailing  among  ourselves,  which  are  based  upon  an  equality 
of  numbers  in  the  two  sexes,  it  is  hard  to  conceive  a  state  of  things  in  which  the 
women  are  two  or  three  times  as  many  as  the  men.  Yet  not  only  do  we  find 
in  Uganda,  according  to  Felkin,  seven  women  to  every  three  men,  but  in  the 
half-civilized  Paraguay  it  was  reckoned  in  1883,  after  some  years  of  war,  that 
out  of  345,000  inhabitants,  two -thirds  were  women.  The  consequence  is  an 
excess  of  the  female  element  in  the  family,  which  is  the  most  immediate  cause  of 

'  [And  of  Aristotle  long  before  him.  ] 


FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL   CUSTOMS  115 

polygamy.  A  superfluity  of  men,  such  as  civilization  brings  with  it  in  new 
countries  peopled  by  immigrants,  is  less  frequent  in  the  lower  grades  ;  we  find 
it  where  there  are  slaves,  and  in  great  centres  of  commerce.  Plurality  of  husbands, 
or  polyandry,  which  was  formerly  regarded  as  a  specially  deep-rooted  and  ancient 
form  of  the  family,  has  by  closer  observation  been  shown  to  be  a  development 
from  altered  or  abnormal  conditions.  The  small  number  of  women  among  the 
imported  labourers  in  Fiji  has  caused  a  true  polyandry  to  grow  up,  and  it  has 
arisen,  under  similar  conditions,  among  a  slave  colony  of  Dinka  slaves  in  Lega 
land.  In  Tibet,  and  among  the  Nairs  in  India,  one  man  may  belong  to  several 
married  groups. 

Independently  of  these  outgrowths  of  marriage,  in  which  nevertheless  the 
woman  follows  the  man — while  he  is  her  lord,  and  the  lord  of  her  children  and 
her  earnings, — we  find  that  form  of  marriage,  equally  possible  with  monogamic 
or  polygamic  institutions,  in  which  the  man  enters  the  woman's  community,  and 
the  children  belong  to  her.  Here  comes  in  what  in  one  word  is  called  "  Mother- 
right."  This  takes,  as  the  corner  stone  of  the  family  and  of  society,  the  one 
certain  fact  in  all  relationships — the  kinship  of  children  to  their  mother.  When 
Herodotus  found  among  the  Lycians  the  custom  whereby  the  children  took  the 
mother's  name,  and  pedigrees  were  reckoned  in  the  female  line,  he  thought  that 
that  people  differed  from  all  others.  But  we  now  know  that  this  custom,  either 
practised  consciously  and  completely,  or  only  as  a  survival,  recurs  among  many 
races.  The  child  may  be  so  closely  attached  to  the  kindred  of  the  mother  that 
in  tribal  feuds  father  and  son  may  fight  on  opposite  sides.  In  all  races  we  find 
nations  among  whom  the  chiefship  descends  through  the  mother.  It  is  tempting  to 
see  in  this  a  survival  from  an  older  form  of  marriage,  perhaps  a  transition  to  group- 
marriage  ;  since  this  too  looks  for  the  only  unquestionable  certainty  of  a  child's 
origin  in  his  kinship  to  his  mother,  and  thus  equally  ignores  the  father.  It  is 
also  certain  that  where  mother-right  prevails,  so  far  from  any  promiscuity  of 
intercourse  arising,  women  who,  owing  to  their  kinship  to  their  own  group,  may 
only  mate  with- a  man  belonging  to  another,  stand  to  him  in  a  much  closer  relation 
than  do  those  with  whom  he  is  forbidden  ever  to  mate.  The  husband  enters  the 
tribe,  even  the  household,  of  his  wife,  and  a  whole  series  of  customs,  in  many  cases 
very  extraordinary,  points  to  the  fact  that  in  spite  of  the  bond  of  wedlock  he  is 
regarded  as  a  stranger  there.  Tylor  has  collected  statistics  indicating  that  the 
curious  practice  whereby  the  husband  avoids  and  refuses  to  know  the  wife's  parents, 
and  especially  his  mother-in-law,  appears  almost  exclusively  in  the  cases  where  he 
enters  the  wife's  family.  These  onerous  ordinances,  too,  are  among  the  most 
strictly  enforced.  An  Australian  indignantly  repels  a  suggestion  to  utter  the 
name  of  his  mother-in-law.  When  John  Tanner,  the  naturalized  Ojibbeway,  was 
introduced  by  an  Assiniboine  friend  into  his  wigwam,  he  noticed  that  two  old 
people — his  friend's  father  and  mother-in-law — veiled  their  faces  while  their  son- 
in-law  went  by.  Each  will  even  avoid  the  footprints  which  the  other  may  have 
made  in  the  sand.  The  custom  of  naming  the  father  after  the  child,  as  Moffat 
was  called  "  Mary's  father,"  is  also  found  where  the  husband  has  migrated  into  the 
family  of  the  wife.  It  may  be  explained  as  an  indication  that  the  non-acquaint- 
ance continues  until  such  time  as  the  birth  of  a  child  has  established  a  connection 
between  himself  and  the  family.  The  small  attention,  too,  which  the  father  pays 
to  the  bringing-up  of  his  offspring,  is  probably  due  to  a  like  cause  ;   the  children 


ii6 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


do  not  belong  to  him,  but  to  the  mother  and  her  tribe.  A  survival  of  the  privileged 
position  of  the  female  side  appears  also  in  the  etiquette  prevailing  among  the 
Kurnai  of  Australia,  by  which  the  husband  has  to  assign  certain  special  portions 
of  game  taken  by  him  to  his  parents-in-law.  We  must  not,  however,  look  for 
traces  of  mother -right  in  every  insignificant  custom,  such,  for  example,  as  the 
provision  of  the  wedding-breakfast  by  the  bride's  family. 


A  Zulu  family.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Wangemann. ) 


The  transition  from  this  system  to  that  in  which  the  father  is  the  head  of  the 
house,  or  as  it  may  be  called,  "  father-right,"  appears  to  come  about  spontaneously, 
in  cases  where  the  father  acquires  property  by  his  own  exertions  ;  which  then 
naturally  belongs  to  him.  Again,  local  separation  furnishes  a  point  of  origin  for 
the  extension  of  the  new  family.  Powell  relates  that  an  Indian  tribe  in  which 
mother-right  prevailed,  being  compelled  in  a  time  of  dearth  to  migrate  with  its 
women,  became  in  its  new  situation  the  originator  of  a  tribe  with  father-right. 
In  view  of  the  tendency  to  exempt  from  the  mother's  right  of  bequest  land  which 
has  been  cleared  by  the  father  with  or  without  the  aid  of  the  children,  it  must 
happen  that,  for  example,  settlements  in  a  new  country  must  be  at  the  disposal 
of  the  father  ;  and  besides  this,  movable  property  shows  the  sarne  tendency. 
Tending  the  herds  especially  demands  hard  labour,  and  as  a  natural  consequence 


FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL   CUSTOMS  "7 

the  patriarchal  system  has  reached  its  highest  development  among  pastoral  races  ; 
so  that  the  introduction  of  cattle-breeding  into  the  industrial  life  of  mankind 
may  well  have  played  an  important  part  in  the  extension  of  this  system. 

Closely  connected  with  marriage  under  the  influence  of  mother-right  is  the 
remarkable  custom,  which  has  lasted  to  our  own  time,  known  as  "  exogamy." 
Many  tribes  forbid  their  young  men  to  take  a  wife  from  among  their  own  body, 
thus  compelling  them  to  marry  one  of  another  tribe.  This  custom  assumes  so 
rigid  a  legal  form  that  many  tribes  in  Africa,  Australia,  Melanesia,  America,  have 
their  regular  "  wife -tribes "  out  of  which  they  always  choose  their  partners. 
Exogamy  even  reaches  so  high  as  to  the  Brahmins  of  India,  and  we  find  it  as 
a  superstition  among  the  Chinese  ;  it  penetrates  so  deeply  that  the  very  language 
of  a  race  may  be  divisible  according  to  male  and  female  descent.  Thus  L.  Adam 
reports  of  the  Carib  language  that  it  is  a  mixed  speech,  that  of  the  men  being 
deducible  from  the  Galibi  or  true  Carib,  that  of  the  women  from  the  Arawak. 
Its  twofold  nature  consists  in  the  use  by  men  or  women  of  certain  forms  and  words 
only  when  speaking  to  persons  of  their  own  sex  ;  while  on  the  neutral  ground  the 
influence  of  the  women's  Arawak  speech  predominates.  The  division  takes  a  local 
shape  where  a  village  is  divided  into  two  exogamous  halves,  or  where  two  exogamous 
villages  or  tribes  dwell  side  by  side,  which,  as  they  multiply,  similarly  form  a 
dual  society.  Over  large  districts,  even  in  the  Malay  Archipelago,  where  foreign 
influences  have  made  themselves  much  felt,  the  tribal  organisation  comes  under 
this  law,  the  rigour  of  which  extends  even  beyond  marriage,  for  all  intercourse 
within  the  prohibited  limits  is  treated  as  incestuous  and  punished  with  death. 
This  holds  among  the  Dieyerie  of  Australia.  The  often -quoted  exogamous 
group-marriage  of  the  Mount  Gambler  tribe,  where  all  intercourse  within  the 
two  half- tribes,  Krokis  and  Kumites,  is  strictly  forbidden,  but  allowed  so 
freely  between  them  that  the  two  groups  may  almost  be  said  to  be  married  to 
each  other,  appears  to  us  to  be  a  mere  procreative  hugger-mugger.  Remarkable 
traces  of  a  state  of  things  which  has  either  vaijished  or  is  preserved  only  in 
fragments,  are  visible  in  the  kinship-systems  of  the  most  various  races.  These  all 
occur  under  monogamic  or  polygamic  forms,  but  give  clear  evidence  of  the 
previous  existence  of  other  forms  of  marriage  ;  and  that  not  as  rare  curiosities, 
but  widely  extended.  Morgan  first  recognised  in  the  Iroquois  a  people  who  by 
that  time  had  reached  the  mark  of  marriage  by  couples,  but  showed  in  their 
names  for  the  degrees  of  relationship  the  traces  of  an  earlier  system.  The 
Iroquois  at  that  time  called  his  brothers'  children  "  son  "  or  "  daughter,"  while  they 
called  him  "  father '' ;  but  his  sisters'  children  were  to  him  "  nephew  "  and  "  niece," 
and  he  "  uncle  "  to  them.  This  observation  led  Morgan  to  establish  the  rule  that 
the  family  proceeds  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  form  in  proportion  as  society 
develops  to  a  higher  stage  ;  but  the  system  of  kinship  only  registers  progress 
after  long  intervals,  and  only  undergoes  fundamental  changes  when  the  idea  of 
the  family  has  fundamentally  altered.  Thus  it  seemed  possible  to  find  in  the 
names  traces  of  an  older  mode  of  reckoning  kinship  of  which  it  might  be  that 
nothing  else  had  actually  survived.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  kin-names 
of  Hawaii  may  be  referred  to  a  system  like  that  of  the  Iroquois,  but  even  wider 
in  its  employment  of  the  names  for  child,  brother,  and  sister  ;  since  there  all 
children  of  brothers  and  sisters  are  spoken  of  as  the  common  children  of  these, 
and  call  each  other  "  brother "  and  "  sister."      But  we  are  in  no  way  justified  in 


ii8  THE  HISTORY  OF  2rANKIND 

seeing  in  this  a  survival  of  what  Morgan,  and  after  him — not  without  an 
ulterior  purpose — Marx,  Engels,  and  the  rest,  have  called  the  "consanguine  family," 
— that  is,  a  family  in  which  the  only  bar  to  intercourse  was  as  between  relatives 
belonging  to  different  generations — grandparent,  parent,  child,  etc.  The  notion 
of  incest  is  bound  up  with  the  very  lowest  forms  of  marriage  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge,  and  the  bar  has  been  fixed  far  further  back  than  in  our  conception 
of  marriage.  Still  less  does  the  so-called  Punalua  family — in  which  brothers  and 
sisters,  and,  as  a  probable  further  consequence,  their  children,  were  excluded  from 
marriage — result  from  this  Iroquois  kinship -system.  In  Hawaii  this  form  of 
marriage  existed  even  in  the  present  century,  whereby  sisters  were  the  common 
wives  of  several  husbands  (^Punalua),  or  brothers  the  common  husbands  of  several 
wives.  The  ancient  Britons  may  well  have  had  a  similar  form  of  marriage  ;  but 
on  this  subject  we  have  no  information  to  carry  us  farther.  All  attempts  to 
prove  the  existence  of  absolute  promiscuity  may  be  regarded  as  unsuccessful ; 
Bachofen's  researches  take  us  back  to  group-marriage  at  farthest.  The  traces 
of  a  community  of  women,  such  as  surrender  taking  the  form  of  a  religious  rite  ; 
that  curious  feast  held  by  the  Congo  natives  at  the  conclusion  of  the  three 
days'  mourning  for  the  dead,  at  which  the  widow  yields  herself  to  the  mourners, 
and  many  similar  customs,  can  indeed  be  explained  as  survivals  from  such  a  state 
of  things  ;  but  it  seems  more  natural  to  regard  them  as  relapses  from  the 
monopoly  of  women  in  single  or  polygamous  marriages  which  is  constantly  being 
attempted,  but  always  meets  with  opposition,  especially  in  regions  where  the 
sexual  instinct  is  less  restrained.  Similar  relapses,  though  in  other  forms  and 
more  concealed  from  view,  are  not  unknown  even  under  our  own  code  of  morals. 
Questions  concerning  property  and  society  will  make  us  recur  to  this  subject. 

Primogeniture  is  no  more  universal  than  the  tracing  of  descent  in  the  male 
line.  No  doubt  we  find  it  strongly  marked  among  most  races,  even  to  the  point  of 
the  parents,  when  old,  yielding  obedience  to  the  eldest  son,  while  the  brothers  have 
to  work  for  him  like  slaves  ;  but  we  also  find  privileges  conceded  to  the  youngest, 
as  in  the  custom  of  "  borough-English,"  still  not  wholly  extinct  in  this  country. 
In  this  we  may  see  a  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  mother  and  the  family,  who 
will  gain  most  by  the  supremacy  of  the  son  who  is  likely  to  remain  longest  under 
their  tutelage.  "  Patria  potestas  "  is,  if  only  as  a  case  of.  the  right  of  the  strongest, 
very  considerable  wherever  the  family  tie  is  not  extremely  lax.  In  Africa 
children  allow  their  fathers  to  sell  them  without  a  murmur.  On  the  other  hand, 
among  Negroes  the  love  of  parents  for  children  is  developed  in  a  beautiful  degree, 
and  these  races,  considered  low  in  the  scale,  often  enjoy  a  most  closely-welded 
and  charming  family  life  under  the  influence  of  paternal  authority  and  children's 
affection. 

The  modes  of  contracting  marriage  offer  many  traces,  persisting  to  the  present 
day,  of  a  former  state  of  things.  A  present  given  in  many  cases  by  the  founder 
of  a  new  household  to  his  father-in-law,  stamps  the  contract  as  a  form  of  purchase, 
while  not  excluding  the  traces  of  capture.  The  purchase  of  a  wife  is  often 
concluded  while  she  is  still  a  child,  nay,  occasionally,  while  she  is  still  unborn. 
It  happens  not  uncommonly  that  the  lady's  inclinations  are  also  considered  but 
as  a  rule,  parental  dispositions  are  absolute.  The  wooer  usually  expresses  his 
wishes  by  the  presentation  of  a  gift  to  the  parents  of  the  girl  he  has  chosen  •  and 
its   acceptance  or  rejection   is   taken  as  their  decision.      Intermediary  suitors  are 


FAMILY.  AND  SOCIAL   CUSTOMS  119 

often  employed.  Marriages  "  on  approval "  are  also  frequently  found  ;  in  cases 
where  things  turn  out  satisfactorily,  the  course  is,  first  the  offering  of  presents  to 
the  girl,  then  the  building  and  furnishing  of  the  hut,  then  the  gift  to  the  bride's 
parents.  The  nuptials  are  then  performed  either  by  priests,  or  by  the  parents,  or 
the  grandmothers  of  the  young  people  ;  or,  in  their  absence,  by  any  older  relations. 
The  ceremony  includes  symbols  of  the  bride's  loss  of  her  freedom,  of  her  regret  at 
leaving  her  parental  home,  of  the  expected  joy  of  motherhood,  and  so  forth  ;  but 
consists  mainly  of  merriment.  In  many  cases  the  religious  element  does  not 
enter,  but  where  it  does  appear,  it  is  in  the  form  of  an  invocation  of  the  souls  of 
ancestors,  whose  abiding  interest  in  the  family  concerns  is  everywhere  presumed. 
Blood-relationship  is  among  most  races  regarded  as  a  bar  to  marriage  ;  yet  the  heir 
often  takes  over  his  father's  wives.  Divorce  is  in  these  cases  wont  to  be  as  easily 
concluded  as  marriage,  the  chief  difficulty  being  the  recovery  of  the  purchase- 
money.  Wherever  polygamy  is  most  widely  extended,  the  marriage  relation  is 
most  lax  ;  until  we  meet  with  conditions  such  as  the  most  advanced  corruption  of 
civilization  does  not  attain  to.  It  has  been  said,  not  unjustly,  of  the  Polynesians, 
that  the  great  laxity  of  their  family-ties  has  played  an  important  part  in  their 
migration.  What  Cook  said  of  the  father  of  a  New  Zealand  boy  who  was  about 
to  leave  him  without  hope  of  return,  is  true  of  many  :  "  He  would  have  parted 
with  more  emotion  from  his  dog."  The  slave-trade  again  has  increased  the  ease 
with  which  the  bond  between  husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  has  so  often 
been  loosed  ;  while  adoption  rends  the  natural  dependence  in  favour  of  an 
unnatural  tyrannical  law. 

The  capture  of  women  is  no  longer  practised  as  the  sole  means  of  acquiring 
wives  and  founding  families  ;  though  in  the  wars  of  savage  races  often  only  the 
younger  women  are  spared,  and  these  are  taken  as  booty,  like  Andromache,  to 
the  homes  of  the  victors.  But  stories  like  that  of  the  Rape  of  the  Sabines,  or  of 
the  daughters  of  Shiloh  by  the  Benjamites,  declare  plainly  that  a  different  state 
of  things  once  existed  ;  and  a  whole  series  of  curious  customs  can  only  be  ex- 
plained by  a  traditional  objection  to  seeing  daughters,  sisters,  women  of  the  tribe, 
carried  off.  So,  too,  when  we  find  at  the  present  day,  whether  among  Arabs, 
South  Slaves,  or  others,  the  bride  making  a  show  of  yielding  to  compulsion, 
against  her  own  desire,  or  the  marriage  procession  embellished  by  a  fight  between 
the  bride's  people  and  those  of  the 'bridegroom,  culminating  in  the  carrying  off  of 
the  bride,  we  have  obvious  traces  of  what  was  once  conducted  in  a  different 
spirit.  The  less  reality  there  is  in  the  custom,  the  more  capriciously  does  the 
symbolism  work.  In  a  district  of  East  Melanesia  the  boys  of  the  village  await 
the  bride's  relations  and  shoot  harmlessly  at  them  with  arrows.  Or  the  sham 
fight  between  the  bride's  and  bridegroom's  people  does  not  take  place  till  after 
the  wedding  feast.  Not  only  has  the  bridegroom  to  buy  his  bride,  but  she  must 
pay  for  permission  to  go  in  peace.  To  the  same  class  perhaps  belongs  the 
custom  prevalent  in  the  Loyalty  Islands,  whereby  the  newly-married  pair  may 
not  see  each  other  in  public,  nor  dwell  in  the  same  house,  but  have  to  meet 
secretly. 

Contrary  to  the  notion  that  a  comparison  of  the  various  forms  of  marriage' 
will  reveal  a  great  development,  resembling  as  it  were  a  pedigree,  showing  a  pro- 
gressive contraction  of  the  area  within  which  intercourse  was  permitted,  from  its 
original  identity  with  the  whole  tribe,  by  the  exclusion   of  first  nearer,  then  more 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


distant  kindred,  until  monogamy  at  last  was  reached  ;  we  see  in  all  the  forms 
various  attempts  to  do  justice  to  the  hardest  of  all  social  problems,  one  of 
which,  indeed,  no  perfect  solution  is  practically  possible.  The  breeder's  motive 
for  selection,  viz.  the  repression  of  the  weakening  effects  of  in-and-in  breeding, 
by  encouraging  an  invigorating  cross-breeding,  has  unduly  influenced  this  theory 
of  development ;  races  which  did  not  breed  cattle  must  have  been  far  from 
recognising  anything  of  the  kind.  We  should  rather  say  that  we  are  here  in 
presence  of  one  of  those  cases  of  a  consistent  and  refined  development  of  a 
limited  group  of  ideas,  of  which  we  find  so  many  examples  in  the  ethnology  of 
the  natural  races.  Such  development  as  we  can  perceive  with  undoubted  clear- 
ness in  marriage  is  in  the  growth  of  sentiment  with  the  growing  cultivation  of 
the  individual,  and  the  closer  union  resulting  from  the  multiplication  of  points  of 
contact  between  the  sexes,  which  comes  with  increasing  civilization. 

In  primitive  society  woman  holds  a  position  quite  as  full  of  anomalies  as  her 
position  among  the  most  highly-civilized  races,  the  only  difference  being  that  in 
the  former  case  injustice  and  ill-treatment  appear  with  less  disguise  as  the  natural 
consequences  of  her  physically  weaker  powers.  Polygamy  alone  hardly  explains 
her  lower  position.  Even  where  monogamy  is  the  general  rule,  as  is  the  case, 
though  not  without  exceptions,  and  still  less  as  an  ordinance,  among  Negroes, 
Malays,  Indians,  and  the  northern  races,  it  is  usual  for  the  woman  to  live  in  a 
separate  part  of  the  house,  seldom  to  eat  out  of  the  same  dish  as  the  men,  and 
in  any  case,  only  after  they  have  finished.  Higher  civilization,  while  it  has 
improved  woman's  position  by  softening  the  man's  rude  instincts,  and  especially 
his  violence  and  injustice,  has  at  the  same  time,  by  depriving  her  of  the  dignity 
of  labour,  removed  the  basis  of  a  possible  firmer  position  in  society.  Has  it  not, 
indeed,  by  making  such  a  division  of  labour  as  to  give  the  more  limited,  easier, 
and  less  honourable  forms  of  it  to  the  woman,  and  exclude  her  from  warfare, 
public  or  private,  and  sport,  put  her  in  an  even  less  favourable  position  than 
Nature  intended  ?  If  we  descend  the  stages  of  civilization  we  shall  find,  as  we 
come  to  the  lower,  that  woman  is  physically  and  intellectually  more  on  a  par 
with  man.  Might  not  the  question  of  power,  or  rather  strength,  once  have  stood 
somewhat  differently  ?  At  the  stages  of  civilization  with  which  we  are  here 
concerned,  it  was  not  found  difificult  to  allot  a  position  of  authority  to  the  woman. 
We  may  recall  the  influence  of  the  priestesses'  among  the  Malays,  the  frequency 
with  which  female  sovereigns  are  found  in  Africa  and  America,  the  female  troops 
of  Dahomey,  who  are  stronger  than  the  men  and  handier  with  their  weapons. 
Despots  have  often,  like  the  present  king  of  Siam,  formed  a  bodyguard  of  women, 
believing  the  fidelity  of  female  slaves  to  be  more  trustworthy. 

Nature  has  no  doubt  implanted  elements  of  weakness  in  the  physical  organisa- 
tion of  women,  which  perhaps  civilization  only  tends  to  develop  further  ;  but 
there  can  be  no  question  that  the  fact  of  her  bearing  and  bringing  up  the  children 
is  a  great  source  of  strength  which  can  never  fail  her.  If  the  children  belong  to 
the  mother,  or  if,  according  to  the  custom  of  exogamy,  the  husband  enters  the 
wife's  family,  the  greater  influence,  based  upon  present  possession  and  the  future 
hope  of  the  stock,  lies  on  the  female  side.  That  does  not  prevent  the  hardships 
of  life  weighing  upon  her  more  than  upon  the  stronger  man  ;  but  even  so  it  must 
often  happen  that,  as  Arthur  Wright  says  of  the  Seneca  Iroquois,  the  women 
are  a  great  power  in   the   clans  and  elsewhere.      On   occasions,  he   adds,  they  can 


FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL   CUSTOMS 


even  depose  a  chief,  and  reduce  him  to  a  mere  ordinary  brave.  The  manifold 
forms  of  female  rule,  or  the  double  chieftainship,  male  or  female,  such  as  we  find 
in  Lunda,  and  traces  of  it  in  Unyoro,  point  to  a  higher  position  of  woman  at  one 
time. 

In  regard  to  sexual  morality,  comparative  observation  shows  that  in  all 
grades  of  civilization  very  different  conceptions  of  it  obtain,  but  that  these  are 
by  no  means  most  relaxed  among  the  poorest  and  most  wretched  of  natural  races  ; 
rather  in  places  where  there  is  constant  intercourse  with  the  lower  classes  of 
civilized  nations.  Apart  from  this,  however,  we  find  great  differences,  such  as  are 
hardly  to  be  explained  by  primitive  conditions,  but  are  rather  bound  up  with  the 
very  various  circumstances  of  national  life.  In  some  regions  the  utmost  freedom 
is  allowed  between  unmarried  persons,  to  the  point  of  its  being  held  creditable  to 
a  girl  to  bear  children  to  her  lovers  ;  elsewhere  wives  are  surrendered,  freely  or 
for  payment,  to  guests  ;  while  some  tribes  kill  a  girl  who  has  borne  a  child  out 
of  wedlock.  There  is  no  sharper  contrast  than  the  rigid  jealousy  wherewith  the 
Masai  guard  the  purity  of  their  maidens,  who  go  clothed  in  skins,  and  the  laxity 
which  their  easy-going  neighbours,  the  Wakamba,  display  in  regard  to  their  girls, 
who  stroll  about  without  a  rag  on  ;  but  the  former  are  a  proud  race  with  strict 
laws  and  aristocratic  organisation ;  the  latter  a  complaisant,  lazy,  scattered 
subject-race.  We  often  meet  with  the  same  contrast ;  a  strong  nation  keeps  its 
laws  on  this  subject  at  as  high  a  level  as  on  others,  a  weak  one  tends  to  license. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Masai  attach  no  importance  to  chastity  in  married  women. 
The  fact  is  that  the  influence  of  moral  ideas  upon  races  at  this  stage  is  very 
small,  and  that  such  morality  as  there  is  exists  less  in  compliance  with  any 
moral  feeling,  than  as  an  obstacle  to  the  infringement  of  private  rights.  Adultery 
is  universally  regarded  as  an  attack  upon  rights  acquired  by  the  purchase  of  the 
wife  ;  and  thus  the  action  of  the  man  who  makes  a  temporary  surrender  of  his 
wife  to  a  guest,  does  not  necessarily  shock  morality.  It  remains  to  inquire  how 
the  growth  of  this  custom  bears  upon  the  position  of  women  in  a  community  with 
"  mother-right."  No  doubt  the  influence  of  the  women  would  be  thrown  against 
it,  as  to  this  influence  is  due  the  disfavour  with  which  public  opinion  among  the 
North  American  Indians  views  facility  of  divorce.  In  general  the  less  civilized 
societies  allow  freer  play  to  the  sexual  instinct  than  do  the  higher  ;  and  accord- 
ingly among  them  we  find  less  violence  done  to  ideas  of  law  or  morality.  As 
the  bonds  which  unite  man  and  wife  are  drawn  closer  a  change  takes  place.  It 
is  at  this  point  that  professional  harlotry  appears,  as  a  means  of  averting  forms 
of  profligacy  which  might  endanger  family  ties.  In  the  form  in  which  we  find 
it  among  the  Nyam-Nyams,  it  may  no  doubt  be  regarded  as  an  indication  of 
higher  social  development ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  lowers  that  society  materially 
in  moral  worth.  Indeed,  in  disregard  of  moral  obligation,  the  most  cultivated 
society  is  on  a  level  with  the  natural  races.  The  conditions  which  lead  to 
national  decay  often  present  a  striking  parallel.  Society  in  Tahiti,  as  Cook  and 
Forster  found  it,  was  thoroughly  corrupt  and  on  the  high  road  to  decay  ;  it  was 
doomed  to  perish  neither  more  nor  less  than  that  of  Rome  under  Heliogabalus, 
or  that  of  Paris  before  the  Revolution.  Conversely  the  condition  of  the  Zulu 
nation  under  Dingaan  and  Chaka  was  one  of  rude  and  youthful  health.  Certain 
features  of  family  life  which  we  are  apt  to  consider  as  restricted  to  the  richer 
growth  of  the  affections  in  civilized  life  may  be  specially  noticed.     The  mourning 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


of  a  widow  for  her  husband,  or  of  parents  for  children,  is  expressed  with  a  vehe- 
mence which  must  partly  suggest  superstitious  ideas,  but  in  any  case  is  a  great 
act  of  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  the  living  for  the  sake  of  the  dead.  We  may  recall 
how  Australian  women  carry  about  the  corpse,  or  some  bones,  of  their  dead 
children  on  all  their  marches,  or  how  Melanesian  women  wear  the  mummied 
skull  of  their  departed  husbands  ;  not  to  mention  the  widespread  custom  under 
which  widows  and  slaves  follow  their  husband,  or  lord  to  the  grave. 

Motherly  love  is  so  natural  a  sentiment  that  the  modes  of  expressing  it  need 
no  authentication  ;  but  we  often  come  across  instances  of  tenderness  on  the 
father's  part  towards  his  offspring.  No  doubt  there  are  many  cases  of  cruelty, 
but  these  are  exceptions.  All  who  have  gone  deeply  into  the  question  agree  in 
praising  the  peaceful  and  kindly  way  in  which  those  of  one  household  live 
together  among  uncorrupted  natural  races,  doubly  striking  by  contrast  with 
the  dark  practices  and  disregard  of  human  life  with  which  it  often  co- exists. 
Solomon's  maxim  that  he  who  loves  his  child  chastens  him  betimes,  finds  no 
observance  among  natural  races  ;  rather  is  it  the  children  who  tyrannise  over  the 
adult.  But  even  they  seldom  quarrel  or  fight  among  themselves.  Nansen  has 
depicted  the  great  good-nature  which  prevails  among  the  Eskimos,  and  is  inclined 
to  refer  the  repose  and  peacefulness  of  family  life  mainly  to  the  intimate  associa- 
tion customary  between  mother  and  children.  The  educational  effect  of  this 
closely-knit  fellowship  upon  its  members  has  often  been  under-estimated.  But 
among  many  natural  races  life  moves  more  securely  in  fixed  lines  than  it  does 
among  the  most  highly-cultured.  The  respect  for  elders,  the  obedience  to  those 
in  authority,  the  willing  subordination,  the  apathetic  calm,  which  preserves  its 
supremacy  by  force  not  of  intellect  but  of  habit,  in  face  of  the  most  unexpected 
occurrences,  often  impress  Europeans.  The  cool  self-contained  Redskin  of  the 
Indian  tales  is  a  product  of  this  closely-knitted  society. 

The  word  Family  had,  even  in  its  original  Latin  use,  the  meaning  of  house- 
hold, the  slaves  being  included  in  it ;  and  thus  signified  a  society.  It  has  a  yet 
wider  import  among  races  in  very  various  stages  of  civilization.  By  the  compre- 
hension of  kinsfolk  of  several  generations  and  inclusion  of  strangers  in  the  position 
of  slaves,  it  broadens  out  into  an  important  element  of  society.  Among  the 
Slavonic  peoples  we  find  house-comradeship,  Zadruga  or  Bradstro,  "  brother- 
hood," embracing  several  generations  of  descendants  from  one  progenitor,  and' 
their  wives,  in  a  community  of  goods  and  labour  under  one  head,  who  need  not 
always  be  the  eldest.  Traces  of  the  same  appear  among  the  old  Germans  and 
the  Celts  ;  we  find  them  in  India,  in  the  Caucasus,  among  the  Kabyles,  and  many 
other  races  of  Africa  and  Oceania.  Where  we  know  nothing  of  their  internal 
organisation,  the  great  house  with  its  numerous  apartments  for  single  groups — 
particularly  the  "long-house"  (see  woodcut  on  p.  1 27)  indicates  their  existence.  Here 
then  we  are  in  sight  of  the  family  and  of  society.  The  family  holds  its  members 
together  with  a  bond  closer  than  that  of  marriage,  and  forms  with  them  an 
organisation  which  is  one  of  the  great  and  permanent  elements  of  society.  This 
effort  is  most  conspicuous  in  the  societies  where  mother-right  and  exogamy 
obtain  ;  in  which  the  sharp  division  on  the  basis  of  blood-relationship  divides  the 
whole  stock  into  two  halves,  which  are  at  once  family  and  society.  They  divide 
the  property,  individual  property  being  unknown  ;  and  this,  apart  from  kinship 
holds  the  society  together.      For  political   purposes   some   family  stocks   unite   in 


FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL   CUSTOMS  123 

groups,  which  may  be  compared  with  the  old  Greek  Phratrise  ;  several  of  such 
groups  form  the  highest  political  unit,  which  we  call  simply  the  tribe. 

Slavery  and  serfdom  soon  bring  about  a  further  gradation.  The  oldest 
occasion  for  slavery  was  the  compulsory  entry  into  the  society  of  foreigners,  who  in 
most  cases  would  be  prisoners  of  war.  The  custom  of  enslaving  such  prisoners  when 
the  captors  do  not  wish  to  kill  them  is  to  this  day  very  widespread,  and  indeed 
has  been  abandoned  only  by  the  most  highly  civilized  nations.  The  Masai  in  East 
Africa,  a  shepherd  tribe,  who  subsist  upon  herds  of  a  fixed  size,  and  have  neither 
labour  nor  provisions  to  spare  for  slaves,  kill  their  prisoners  ;  their  neighbours, 
the  agricultural  and  trading  Wakamba,  being  able  to  find  a  use  for  slaves,  do  not 
kill  them  ;  while  the  Wanyamwesi,  a  third  people  of  that  region,  having,  through 
their  close  connection  with  the  Arabs  of  the  coast,  a  good  market  for  slaves,  wage 
wars  on  purpose  to  acquire  them.  Here  are  three  situations  of  typical  significance. 
The  impulse  to  level  downwards  which  exists  in  primitive  societies  shows  nowhere 
more  strongly  than  in  the  position  of  relative  freedom  which  the  slaves  enjoy.  If 
there  is  no  work  for  male  slaves,  females  are  always  wanted,  and  their  issue  forms 
a  yet  lower  social  grade.  Slaves  are  also  bought  for  human  sacrifices,  and  in 
Central  Africa  the  death  of  a  chief  creates  a  brisk  demand.  Wherever  the  status 
of  slave  is  recognised,  as  it  is  among  all  pagan  nations,  it  offers  a  welcome  means 
of  expiation  ;  the  last  sacrifice  which  the  creditor  can  claim  from  his  debtor,  the 
plaintiff  from  the  defendant,  is  the  surrender  of  personal  freedom.  A  curious 
exception  is  found  among  the  Ewe  people,  where  the  insolvent  debtor  incurs  the 
penalty  of  death.  But  between  the  positions  of  slavery  for  debt  and  freedom  as 
enjoyed  by  the  masters,  lies  the  dependent  position  of  those  whom  poverty  has 
reduced  to  the  verge  of  slavery  though  nominally  free.  To  these  applies  the 
maxim  that  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  is  owing  to  the  creation,  by  means  of 
labour,  of  movable  value,  that  is,  capital,  and  thus  that  capital  and  freedom  are 
sisters. 

There  is  a  great  distinction  between  slavery  as  a  national  institution  and  as 
a  means  of  preparing  goods  for  trade.  If  Arabs  and  other  slave-holders  treat 
their  slaves  well,  the  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  participation  of  both  slave  and 
master  in  the  general  indolence.  So  long  as  no  great  differences  of  rank  from 
the  point  of  view  of  culture  exist,  not  much  demand  will  be  made  upon  the  slave's 
labour  ;  but  as  society  progresses  and  wants  increase  his  lot  becomes  harder,  and 
it  is  in  no  w.ay  ameliorated  by  humanising  progress  generally.  The  interval 
which  separates  master  and  slave  increases  in  proportion  to  the  desire  of  gain  ;  so 
that,  as  Livingstone  says,  no  improvement  in  the  slave's  position  can  be  expected, 
even  if  the  slave-holder  does  not  return  to  or  remain  in  barbarism.  If  we  look 
at  Africa,  we  see  that  among  all  merchandise  slaves  and  women  stand  in  the  closest 
relation  to  the  requirements  of  the  negro.  Their  sphere  is  a  large  one  ;  for  all 
that  does  not  concern  trade,  fighting,  or  hunting,  is  the  business  of  the  women  and 
slaves.  These  form  the  favourite  merchandise,  the  most  important  standard  of 
property,  the  best  investment  for  capital.  Above  all  they  are  the  articles  easiest 
to  provide  in  exchange  for  goods  in  request — at  one  time,  indeed,  the  only  medium 
of  exchange  beside  ivory  that  Africa  possessed. 

When  men  are  a  form  of  capital,  their  tendency"  is,  like  other  capital,  to  accumu- 
late ;  for  the  desire  of  owning  slaves  is  just  as  insatiable  as  the  craving  for  property 
and  wealth  in  any  other  form.     Therein  lies  the  greatest  danger  of  this  institution. 


124  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

Excessive  slavery  is  one  of  the  causes  which  destroy  states  ;  it  was  so  in  Rome 
of  old,  it  is  so  in  Africa  and  parts  of  America  to-day.  It  splits  up  the  nation,  of 
which  an  ever-increasing  proportion  falls  into  slavery  ;  it  brings  on  war,  devasta- 
tion, tyranny,  human  sacrifices,  cannibalism.  It  has  been  alleged  as  an  advantage 
possessed  by  the  powerful  conquering  nation  of  the  Fans  in  West  Africa,  that  they 
keep  no  slaves  to  weaken  their  warlike  force.  The  last  result  is  the  depopulating 
and  enfeebling  of  wide  areas.  If  we  may  assume,  with  Father  Bauer,  that  before 
the  conclusion  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere's  treaty  in  1873,  65,000  slaves  were  annually 
imported  into  Zanzibar,  this  means,  allowing  for  those  who  escaped  or  were  left 
behind  on  the  way,  that  some  100,000  were  torn  from  their  homes  in  the  same 
period. 

Nearly  allied  to  slaves  are  those  despised  and  degraded  portions  of  the  popula- 
tion, who  live  as  a  sharply-separated  and  deep-lying  stratum,  under  a  conquering  race. 
Almost  every  race  of  Asia  or  Africa  which  has  made  any  progress  towards  higher 
development  embraces  some  such,  not  always  differing  ethnologically.  For  that 
very  reason,  however,  the  social  difference  is  all  the  more  strictly  maintained,  and 
often  enough  leads  to  further  divisions  among  the  lower  classes  themselves.  Thus 
in  some  parts  of  Southern  Arabia  four,  in  others  two,  classes  of  Pariahs  are  dis- 
tinguished ;  some  of  them  degraded  by  birth,  others  through  following  unclean 
trades.  The  caste  divisions  of  India  show  the  same  distinctions,  for  in  the  lowest 
castes  we  equally  find  some  degraded  by  birth,  some  by  occupation.  Both  causes 
meet  in  our  gipsies,  in  the  Yetas  of  Japan,  and  others  ;  and  it  is  at  once  interesting 
and  melancholy  to  see  how  in  North  America  numerous  remains  of  the  Indian 
population  have  sunk  to  a  like  level.  Here  the  cause  of  the  degradation  was  the 
invasion  by  a  foreign  race.  A  particular  form  of  this  inequality  is  the  subjection 
of  whole  races  to  a  conquering  plundering  horde.  In  some  parts  of  the  Sahara 
the  Arabs  and  Tibboos  look  upon  certain  oases  and  their  inhabitants  as  their 
private  property.  They  turn  up  at  harvest  time  to  take  their  tribute,  that  is  to 
plunder  and  rob ;  and  in  the  interval  leave  their  subjects  to  misery  and  the  task 
of  planting  for  their  benefit.  In  course  of  time  an  assimilation  may  result  from 
this  gradation,  though  the  family  regarded  as  a  kin-group  seeks  to  maintain  an 
attitude  of  reserve  and  opposition  to  this,  by  objection  to  misalliances.  But  it 
may  also,  by  the  introduction  of  economical  causes,  and  local  dispersion,  lead  to 
a  sharp  and  permanent  separation,  till  we  find  the  hunters  of  the  Central  African 
forests,  the  so-called  Pygmies,  appearing  as  a  peculiar  social  race  beside  their 
agricultural  masters  and  protectors. 

The  tribal  membership  becomes  connected  with  the  realm  of  the  unseen  by 
means  of  special  stock-symbols— known  as  Totems  among  the  American  Indians, 
Atuas  among  the  Polynesians — which  have  been  promoted  to  the  position  of  tutelary 
spirits.  Among  the  Samoan  stocks  we  find  Atuas  using  the  shovel,  Aanas  the 
lance,  Latuamasangas  the  whisk,  Mononos  the  fishing-net,  as  imparted  by  the  god 
Pili.  More  especially  are  animals,  preferably  reptiles,  fish,  and  birds  sacred  to 
the  gods  ;  and  each  member  of  a  stock  bears  the  emblem  tattooed  on  his  person 
not  only  with  a  view  to  his  recognition  and  classification,  but  as  an  amulet  and 
an  object  of  reverence.  Among  Indians  and  Australians  we  also  find  the  influence 
of  the  totems  in  proper  names.'  G.  Forster  called  attention  long  ago  to  the  fact 
that  among  the  Polynesians  personal  names  are  often  taken  from  animals  and 
compared   this   with   a  similar   custom  among   the   North  American    Indians       A 


FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL   CUSTOMS  125 

Tahitian  chief  was  called  Otu,  the  heron  ;  a  Marquesan,  Honu,  the  tortoise. 
These  are  almost  certainly  clan-names,  such  as  we  find  also  among  African  tribes, 
Bechuanas,  Ashantees,  etc.  The  attitude  adopted  towards  the  stock-symbol  is 
very  various ;  sometimes  it  is  an  object  of  dread,  sometimes  of  honour  and 
protection.  Among  some  stocks  it  is  a  capital  offence  to  injure  the  original  of 
the  symbol ;  while  in  Aurora  (Banks  Island)  a  member  of  the  Veve,  whose  cog- 
nisance is  the  cuttle-fish,  so  far  from  objecting  to  eat  it,  thinks  the  capture  of 
it  particularly  lucky.  Similar  totem-stocks  in  different  tribes  lend  each  other 
mutual  assistance,  and  thus  the  system  affords  a  ground  for  close  alliances  between 
distant  tribes. 

Secret  societies  also  ramify  through  the  community,  creating  a  division  into 
adepts  and  uninitiated.  They  have  a  natural  tendency  to  appear  in  communities 
which  lack  any  great  public  motive  for  a  hierarchy  of  ranks.  They  draw  artificial 
boundaries,  wear  masks  of  which  they  alone  understand  the  meaning,  surround 
themselves  with  religious  forms,  take  control  of  important  functions,  such  as  the 
initiation  of  young  persons  arriving  at  maturity,  or  the  exaction  of  penalties  for 
law-breaking,  reminding  us  (and  in  this  latter  respect  both  in  their  nature  and 
their  operations)  of  the  German  Vehmegericht.  Part  of  the  duty  of  these  secret 
societies  and  other  bodies  consists  in  the  maintenance  of  traditions.  If  there  is 
no  other  organisation  for  this  purpose,  their  members  are  systematically  instructed 
in  the  subject. 

No  race  is  actually  communistic  ;  but  there  is  so  much  communism  in  the 
institutions  of  savage  races,  that  it  has  often  appeared  more  important  to  combat 
this  than  to  introduce  Christianity.  Missionaries  have,  no  doubt,  been  too  ready 
to  find  in  communism,  which  does  not  require  a  man  to  put  all  his  strength  into 
his  work,  the  ground  of  various  undesirable  characteristics,  as  in  Samoa  of  the 
tendency  to  intrigue  which  enlivens  the  native  indolence.  We  shall  come  across 
institutions  which  are  deliberately  designed  to  prevent  the  undue  amassing  of 
capital.  In  Polynesia  the  effect  of  these  has  been  decidedly  good  in  rendering 
difficult  the  admission,  with  mischievous  rapidity,  of  European  goods.  Property 
shows  in  its  relations  a  natural  analogy  with  family  no  less  than  with  social 
institutions  ;  thus  as  we  find  remains  of  group-marriage  beside  monogamy,  so  we 
find  traces  of  common  ownership  side  by  side  with  individual  ownership.  When  a 
member  of  a  family  community,  which  unites  its  forces  to  till  the  common  land 
and  shares  the  produce,  brings  a  piece  of  ground  under  cultivation,  this  becomes 
his  own  private  property  with  right  of  bequest.  A  boat  is  common  property, 
tackle  or  fish-hooks  personal  and  private.  Especially  among  nomad,  and  there- 
fore thinly-scattered,  races  the  notion  of  private  property  is  unequally  developed 
in  different  directions.  The  first  thing  that  makes  a  European,  among  the 
pastoral  races  of  Africa  or  the  hunting  tribes  of  North  America,  feel  that  he 
has  left  the  constraints  of  civilization  behind  him,  is  the  way  in  which  rights  of 
property  are  in  some  cases  neglected.  They  stick  to  their  herds  to  the  point  of 
miserliness,  but  insist  upon  property  in  land  only  so  far  as  they  want  it  for 
pasture.  Many  peoples  respect  property  in  locked  chests,  but  hold  what  is  lying 
about  to  be  as  free  as  air.  If  my  team  is  tired,  I  unyoke  where  I  will ;  I  let 
my  cattle  graze  wherever  I  think  I  have  found  grass  for  them.  I  cook  my  meal 
with  the  nearest  wood,  asking  no  man's  leave  ;  and  no  man  looks  upon  it  as  an 
infringement  of  his  rights,  or  an  injury  to  his  property.      If  I  like  the  place  where 


126  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

I  have  halted,  or  find  anything  to  attract  me,  such  as  a  copious  spring,  good 
pasture-land,  or  a  bit  of  fertile  garden-ground,  I  can  stay  there  as  long  as  I 
please,  and  build  myself  as  big  a  house  as  I  like.  But  in  any  case,  if  I  settle  in 
a  particular  spot,  I  must  allow  others  to  find  the  spring  copious  and  the  pasturage 
abundant,  and  to  come  there  with  their  herds  ;  and  I  must  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  them  about  the  use  of  it.  The  Hereros  of  Damaraland,  according 
to  Buttner,  have  a  way,  in  spite  of  their  communism,  of  making  an  unpopular 
newcomer  dislike  his  quarters  by  the  simple  artifice  of  driving  all  their  flocks  and 
herds  into  the  neighbourhood  of  his  residence.  As  soon  as  he  has  had  enough 
of  the  damage  and  devastation  which  is  thus  caused,  he  clears  out.  The  exact 
contrary  is  seen  in  the  thickly-peopled  region  of  the  Upper  Nile,  where  lakes  and 
ponds,  which  yield  fish  and  lotus-seeds  (almost  the  sole  sustenance  of  these  fishing- 
people)  in  profusion,  are  respected  as  valuable  property,  just  as  are  cornfields  and 
vineyards  in  Europe.  The  Indian  buffalo-hunters  of  the  prairies  confine  them- 
selves to  settled  natural  boundaries.  To  the  present  day  the  Bechuanas  pay  toll 
to  the  Bushmen  on  the  game  which  they  take,  under  the  plea  that  the  latter 
were  the  original  owners  of  the  hunting-grounds.  The.  Hereros,  of  whose  half- 
developed  proprietary  instinct  we  have  just  given  an  example,  carefully  avoid  any 
formal  surrender  of  their  property  to  strangers  ;  a  full  renunciation  of  the  use  of 
their  land  is  inconceivable  to  them.  From  the  idea  of  tribal  possession  arises  the 
notion  common  in  Africa  that  the  tribal  chief  is  the  sole  owner  of  the  soil,  and 
accordingly  the  members  of  the  tribe  pay  such  a  tax  to  him  for  the  use  of  it  as 
may  be  agreed  upon. 

The  Spaniards  of  the  sixteenth  century  tell  us  that  no  Indian  had  any  free 
disposal  of  land,  but  only  with  the  assent  of  his  tribe.  In  Oceania  the  transition 
from  one  form  of  ownership  to  the  other  seems  to  be  taking  place  under  our  eyes, 
and,  just  as  happened  with  the  advance  of  white  settlers  on  Indian  soil,  uppn  the 
basis  of  labour  done  in  clearing  and  cultivation.  Hunting  leads  to  tribal  owner- 
ship only  ;  and  even  the  Australians  and  Eskimo,  distributed  in  the  proportion  of 
one  to  2000  square  miles  or  so,  lay  claim  to  certain  tracts  of  land  on  behalf  of  the 
family  or  tribe,  and  regard  as  an  enemy  any  one  who  enters  or  uses  these  terri- 
tories without  leave.  The  thinness  of  population  usually  found  when  we  come  down 
to  the  lower  stages,  will  for  the  most  part  allow  of  abundant  elbow-room  ;  but  it 
is  obvious  that  a  family  subsisting  by  the  chase  wants  more  soil  than  one  of  agricul- 
turists, and  equally  so  that  pastoral  nomads  demand  broader  areas  than  settled 
cattle-breeders.  These  contrasts  have  prevailed  at  all  times  and  in  all  countries ; 
and  when  we  come  to  the  races  of  the  steppe,  we  shall  see  that  important  historical 
consequences  follow  upon  this  demand  for  land.  The  hereditary  dislike  of  the 
Indians  towards  the  partitioning  of  their  lands  into  individual  properties,  as  well 
as  towards  the  sale  of  superfluous  territory,  has  contributed  much  to  the  difficulties 
of  their  position  in  regard  to  the  white  man. 

The  effect  of  labour  in  creating  property  does  not  stop  with  the  fencing-in  of 
a  forest  clearing.  According  as  labour  attaches  itself  to  the  soil,  or  only  passes 
lightly  over  it,  its  results  differ  fundamentally.  Hunting,  fishing,  nomad  pastoral 
life,  create  for  the  most  part  a  mere  transitory  possession,  which  takes  no  pains  to 
store  or  spare  the  source  whence  it  draws.  In  agriculture,  on  the  contrary,  there 
is  a  constant  strengthening  and  deepening,  which  acts  not  least  powerfully  through 
the  other  branches  of  human  activity  which  it  keeps  steadily  going.      All  higher 


FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL   CUSTOMS 


127 


development  of  human  powers  rests  upon  this  steady  labour  and  the  storage  of 
its  fruits. 

It  is  just  in  the  lowest  stages  of  civilization  that  the  amassing  of  wealth  is  a 
matter  of  the  greatest  importance,  for  without  wealth  there  is  no  leisure,  and 
without  leisure  no  ennobling  of  the  form  of  life,  no  intellectual  progress.  It  is 
not  till  production  materially  and  permanently  outstrips  consumption  that  there 
can  be  any  superabundance  of  property.  This,  according  to  the  laws  of  political 
economy,  tends  to  increase,  and  allow  an  intelligent  class  to  come  into  existence. 
An  absolutely  poor  race  develops  no  culture.    But  under  the  protection  of  civilization 


Interior  of  a  house  in  Korido,  New  Guinea.      (After  Raffray. ) 

more  men  will  be  born  and  grow  up  than  the  soil  affords  room  for.  The  faster 
this  disproportion  increases,  the  greater  will  be  the  gap  between  Haves  and 
Havenots,  rich  and  poor.  In  hot  countries,  where  man  requires  less  nourishment, 
and  production  is  at  the  same  time  easier  than  in  cold  regions,  the  population 
will  multiply  more  quickly.  Men  become  many,  work  scarce,  therefore  wages 
will  be  abnormally  small,  life  poverty-stricken,  misery  great.  In  the  cooler  zones 
men  want  stronger  food,  while  the  land  produces  less  of  it,  and  thus  maintains 
fewer  persons  ;  the  individual  has  to  work  harder,  with  the  result  that  more  is 
done  and  wages  are  higher.  The  relations  between  harder  labour  and  higher 
wages  is  calculated  to  narrow  the  distinction  between  labourers  and  owners  ;  while, 
on  the  contrary,  the  indolence  of  the  dweller  in  the  tropics  increases  this  distinction, 
when  it  is  once  established,  to  an  enormous  degree.  In  European  countries  we 
see  advantages  of  soil  and  climate  fully  compensated  by  the  excellent  disposition 
of  men  who  have  to  work,  whose  activity  guarantees  the  progress  of  civilization 
more   securely  than    natural   wealth    could    do.     Natural    forces,   with    all    their 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


grandeur,  are  essentially  limited  and  stationary  ;  the  intellectual  force  of  man  is 
inexhaustible.  The  best  soil  is  worked  out  at  last,  but  into  the  place  of  an 
exhausted  generation  of  mankind  there  is  always  a  new  one  ready  to  step,  full 
of  youthful  vigour.  Resting  on  this  basis,  civilization  is  always  most  capable  of 
development  among  the  dwellers  in  the  temperate  zones.  But  this  force  had  to 
be  developed  in  slow,  steady  labour  ;  and  the  development  of  civilization  is  before 
all  things  a  progressive  training  of  every  man  to  work. 

Undoubtedly  every  man  must  labour  in  order  to  live  ;  but  if  he  likes  to  live 
in  misery,  he  need  not  labour  much.  The  total  sum  of  labour  performed  by  the 
savage  is  often  not  less  than  that  performed  by  the  civilized  man  ;  but  he  does  it 
by  fits  and  starts  as  the  humour  takes  him,  and  not  in  a  regular  fashion.  The  life 
of  the  Bushman  is  an  alternation  of  hunting  expeditions,  on  which  he  often 
pursues  the  herds  of  wild  animals  for  days  together  with  extreme  toil,  and 
of  gorging  on  the  game  he  has  taken,  ending  in  slothful  repletion,  until  hunger 


Ashantee  drinking  cups  of  human  slcuUs.     (British  Museum. ) 

forces  him  to  new  exertions.  Regular  work  at  high  pressure  is  what  the  savage 
abhors  ;  hence  comes  that  trait  of  obstinate  apathy  in  his  countenance  which 
is  an  infallible  means  of  distinguishing  the  spurious  from  the  genuine  Indian. 
For  the  same  reason  he  hates  to  learn  a  handicraft.  The  Negro's  passion  for 
trade,  well  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in  Sierra  Leone  almost  every  fifth  person 
is  a  shopkeeper,  springs  to  a  great  extent  from  this  distaste. 

Cannibalism,  which  is  found  in  every  quarter  of  the  earth,  and  was  once  more 
widely  spread  than  now — for  even  Europe  contains  prehistoric  remains  and 
traditions  pointing  to  its  prevalence — is  not  peculiar  to  the  lowest  stages  of  civiliza- 
tion, nor  yet  a  phenomenon  due  to  a  single  cause.  Peoples  like  the  Monbuttus, 
the  Battaks,  the  Maoris  are  among  the  highest  of  the  races  to  which  they  belong. 
But  they  are  well  off  for  men,  and  have  not  risen  high  enough  to  make  a  good 
use  of  their  superfluous  population  by  increasing  their  economic  production. 
Human  life  is  held  cheap  among  them.  Now  cannibalism  presumes  men  for 
eating ;  and  therefore  we  find  it  either  where  the  population  is  dense,  or  where 
a  people  has  the  power  to  get  plenty  of  slaves.  Among  the  Bangalas  there  are 
more  slaves  than  are  wanted  for  the  labour,  so  that  meat  is  abundant.  Another 
cause  is  the  sharp  separation  between  one  race  and  another,  which  causes 
strangers  to  be  regarded  as  enemies,  and  allows  any  use  to  be  made  of  them, 
even  that  of  supplying  nourishment.  Within  an  exclusive  family-stock  or  in 
a  group  consisting  of  such  stocks,  cannibalism  would  have  seemed  as  inconceivable 


THE  STATE 


129 


as  incest ;  so   that    if  the  practice   has  in  recent  years  infected  islands  of  the 
Solomon  group,  it  is  a  fact  of  the  same  class  as  the  relaxation  of  social  order 
which  has  spread    over  the  same  region    from    a   similar   direction.      Since   the 
introducers  of  both  innovations  are  the   Polynesians,  we  can  hardly  doubt  that 
there  is  a  deep-lying  connection  between  them  ;  and  similarly  we  may  account 
for  the  uneven,  disconnected  spread  of  cannibalism,  which   was  found    to  exist 
even    before    the    rapidly    increased    opposition    to    it    caused    by    Christian    and 
Mussulman  influence.      Further  motives  are  revenge,  which  delights  to  eat  its  foe  ; 
and  envy,  which  hopes  by  so  doing  to  acquire  his  more  desirable  characteristics. 
To  people  whose   loose  style  of  building   makes 
prisons   untrustworthy,  the   idea    of  imprisonment 
for    life    does    not    readily    occur,    so    that    capital 
punishment     flourishes.       Besides     these     reasons, 
cannibalism   is  closely  involved  in  the  whole  net- 
work of  cannibal  customs  ;  embracing  first  human 
sacrifice,  then  the  employment  of  portions  of  the 
human   frame   in    the   ritual   of  consecrations   and 
witchcraft,  and  lastly  the  preservation   and  use  of 
human  remains,  skulls  for  drinking-cups,  bones  for 
daggers,   teeth  for  necklaces.      This   playing   with 
human  flesh  and  bones  would  be  the  first  step  to 
overcoming   a  natural   disgust.      When   a  chief  in 
the  Society  Islands  swallowed  a  human  eye  on  a 
festive  occasion,  cannibalism   was    not  entirely  at 
an  end  in  those  regions.    We  cannot  always  safely 
infer  cannibalism  from  the  names  of  races,  as  these 
were  frequently  given  by  way  of  insult.      The   indulgence   in   the   practice   from 
necessity,  which  is  not  unknown  among  Europeans,  is   quite   intelligible  among 
races   which,  like   many  Australian   and   Arctic  tribes,  suffer  every  year  or  two, 
or  continuously,  from   famine  ;  and   need  only  be  noticed   as  contributing  to  its 
maintenance  and  extension.     For  where  it  has  once  got  a  footing,  its  attraction 
increases,  till  we  find  races  among  whom  human  flesh  is  an  article  of  trade,  and 
funerals  are  almost  unknown. 


Human  bone  m  the  fork  of  a  branch  ;  a 
cannibal  memento  from  Fiji.  (Leip- 
zig Museum  of  Ethnology. ) 


§  13.  THE  STATE 

All  races  live  in  some  kind  of  civil  union — Development  of  states — Farmers  and  shepherds  as  founders  of 
states — Distinctive  marks  of  the  prhnitive  foundations-^Cause  of  arbitrary  power — Power  of  the  chiefs — 
War — Causes  of  its  frequency — Ruinous  effects  of  a  permanent  state  of  war — Universal  mistrust — Rarity 
of  alliances — Sham  wars — Frontiers — Loose  cohesion  of  primitive  states. 


No  race  is  without  political  organisation,  even  though  it  be  so  lax  as  among  the 
Bushmen,  whose  little  bands  united  for  hunting  or  plunder  are  occasionally  without 
leaders  ;  or  as  we  find  among  other  degraded  or  scattered  tribes,  who  are  often 
held  together  only  by  superstition  and  want.  What  sociologists  call  individualism 
has  never  been  found  anywhere  in  the  world  as  a  feature  in  any  race.  When 
ancient  races  fall  to  pieces  new  ones  quickly  form  themselves  out  of  the  fragments. 

K 


13° 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


This  process  is  constantly  going  on.  "  Each  individual  stock,"  says  Lichtenstein, 
"  is  in  some  measure  only  a  transitory  phenomenon.  It  will  in  course  of  time  be 
swallowed  up  by  one  more  powerful,  or  if  more  fortunate  will  split  up  into  several 
smaller  hordes  which  go  off  in  different  directions,  and,  after  a  few  generations, 

know  no  more  of  each  other." 
These  political  mutations 
have  always  the  character  of 
a  re-crystallisation,  not  of  a 
shapeless  breaking  up.  It  is 
only  seldom  that  the  organ- 
ism is  of  long  duration.  One 
of  the  marks  of  the  civilized 
man  is  that  he  accustoms 
himself  to  the  pressure  of  the 
laws  in  the  fulfilling  of  which 
he  is  himself  practically  in- 
terested. But  if  a  compara- 
tively well-ordered  constitu- 
tion has  been  founded  among 
negroes,  another  community 
is  sure  soon  to  make  its  ap- 
pearance on  the  frontier  com- 
posed of  persons  belonging 
to  the  same  stock  who  are 
subject  to  no  ordinances,  and 
these  lawless  outcasts  often 
obtain  through  their  freedom 
from  every  legal  restraint  and 
every  regard  for  tribal  rela- 
tions, even  through  the  con- 
sideration which  attracts  to 
them  all  the  boldest  and 
neediest  men  from  neigh- 
bouring tribes,  a  force  which 
is  capable  of  converting  the 
robber  tribe  into  a  conquer- 
ing, state-founding,  and  ruling 
people.  Plunder  and  conquest 
pass  easily  into  one  another. 
In  all  countries  of  which  we  know  the  history,  predatory  tribes  have  played  an 
important  part. 

Most  of  what  we  know  of  the  history  of  the  natural  races  is  the  history 
of  their  wars.  The  first  importation  of  firearms,  which  permitted  unimportant 
powers  to  rise  rapidly,  marks  the  most  sharply-defined  epoch  in  the  history  of 
all  negro  states.  What  Wissmann  says  about  the  Kioko,  "with  them  came 
firearms  and  therewith  the  formation  of  powerful  kingdoms,"  is  true  of  all.  Is  not 
this  constant  fighting  the  primitive  condition  of  man  in  its  lowest  manifestation  ? 
To  this  it  may  be  answered  that  hitherto  our  own  peace  has  never  been  anything 


Zulu  chief  in  full  war-dress.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession 
of  Dr.  Wangemann. ) 


THE   STATE  131 


but  armed,  but  among  us  serious  outbreaks  of  the  warlike  impulse  are  interrup- 
tions in  longer  intervals  of  rest  which  are  enjoined  by  the  conditions  of  civiliza- 
tion, while  among  the  races  of  which  we  are  speaking,  a  condition  like  our  mediaeval 
"  club  law  "  is  very  often  permanent.  Yet  even  so  it  must  be  pointed  out  that 
among  barbarians  also  there  are  peaceful  races  and  peace-loving  rulers.  Let  us 
not  forget  that  the  bloodiest  and  most  ruinous  wars  waged  by  the  natural  races 
have  been  those  which  they  have  carried  on  not  among  themselves  but  with 
Europeans,  and  that  nothing  has  kindled  violence  and  cruelty  among  them  in 
such  a  high  degree  as  has  the  slave  trade,  instigated  by  the  avarice  of  more  highly 
civilized  strangers,  with  its  horrible  consequence  of  slave -hunting.  When  the 
most  charitably  just  of  all  men  who  have  criticised  the  natural  races,  the  peaceable 
David  Livingstone,  could  write  in  his  last  journal  these  words  :  "  The  principle  of 
Peace  at  any  Price  leads  to  loss  of  dignity  and  injustice  ;  the  fighting  spirit  is  one 
of  the  necessities  of  life.  When  men  have  little  or  none  of  it  they  are  exposed 
to  unworthy  treatment  and  injuries," — we  can  see  that  the  inevitableness  of 
fighting  between  men  is  a  great  and  obtrusive  fact. 

But  this  state  of  war  does  not  exclude  civil  ordinances,  rather  it  evokes  them. 
It  is  no  longer  war  of  all  against  all,  but  it  rather  represents  a  phase  in  the  evolution 
of  the  national  life  when  it  has  already  been  long  in  process  of  forming  a  state.  The 
most  important  step  from  savagery  to  culture  is  the  emancipation  of  the  individual 
man  from  complete  or  temporary  segregation  or  isolation.  All  that  co-operates  in 
the  creation  of  societies  as  distinct  from  families  was  of  the  very  greatest  importance 
in  the  earliest  stages  of  the  evolution  of  culture,  and  here  the  struggle  with  Nature, 
in  the  widest  sense,  afforded  the  most  important  incitements.  The  acquisition  of 
food  might  in  the  first  instance  give  rise  to  association  in  joint  hunting  and  still 
more  in  joint  fishing.  Not  the  least  advantage  of  the  latter  is  the  disciplining 
of  the  crews.  In  the  larger  fishing  boats  a  leader  has  to  be  selected  who  must 
be  implicitly  obeyed,  since  all  success  depends  upon  obedience.  Governing 
the  ship  paves  the  way  to  ruling  the  state.  In  the  life  of  a  race  like  that  of- 
the  Solomon  Islanders,  usually  reckoned  complete  savages,  sea-faring  is  undoubtedly 
the  only  element  which  can  concentrate  their  forces.  The  agriculturist  living 
isolated  will  certainly  never  feel  an  impulse  making  so  strongly  for  union  ;  yet  he 
too  has  motives  for  combination,  he  owns  property,  and  in  this  property  inheres 
a  capital  for  his  labour.  Since  this  labour  does  not  need  to  be  again  executed  by 
the  inheritors  of  this  property,  there  follows  of  itself  the  continuity  of  ownership 
and  therewith  the  importance  of  blood  relationship.  Secondly,  we  find  bound 
up  with  agriculture  the  tendency  to  dense  population.  Next,  as  this  popula- 
tion draws  closer  and  marks  its  boundaries,  it,  like  every  multitude  of  men  who 
live  on  the  same  spot  of  earth,  acquires  common  interests,  and  diminutive 
agricultural  states  spring  up.  Among  shepherds  and  nomads  the  formation  of 
states  progresses  more  quickly,  just  in  proportion  as  the  need  for  combination  is 
more  active  and  includes  wider  spaces.  This  indeed  lies  in  the  nature  of  their 
occupation.  Thus  while  the  family  is  in  this  case  of  greater  importance  than  in 
that  first  mentioned,  the  possibility  of  denser  population  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
excluded.  But  here  the  property  requires  stronger  defence,  and  this  is  guaranteed 
by  concentration,  in  the  first  place  of  the  family.  From  an  economic  point  of 
view  it  is  more  reasonable  for  many  to  live  by  one  great  herd  than  for  the  herd 
to  be  much  subdivided.     A  herd  is  easily  scattered,  and  requires  strength  to  keep 


132 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


it  together.  It  is  therefore  no  chance  result  that  the  family  nowhere  attains  to 
such  political  importance  as  among  nomad  races.  Here  the  patriarchal  element 
in  the  formation  of  tribes  and  states  is  most  decidedly  marked  ;  in  a  hunter-state 
the  strongest  is  the  centre  of  power,  in  a  shepherd-state  the  eldest. 

We  are  apt  to  regard  despotism  as  a  lower  form  of  development  in  comparison 
with  the  constitutional  state,  and  attribute  to  it  accordingly  a  high  antiquity.  It 
used  formerly  to  be  thought  that  beginnings  of  political  life  might  be  seen  shaping 


The  Basuto  chief  Secocoeni  with  his  court.      (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Wangemann.) 

themselves  in  the  forms  of  it.  But  this  is  contradicted  at  the  very  outset  by  the 
fact  that  despotism  stands  in  opposition  to  the  tribal  or  patriarchal  origin  from 
which  these  states  have  grown.  The  family  stock  has  of  course  a  leader,  usually 
the  eldest ;  but  apart  from  warfare  his  power  is  almost  nil,  and  to  over-estimate 
it  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  sources  of  political  mistakes  made  by  white  men. 
The  chief's  nearest  relations  in  point  of  fact  do  not  stand  far  enough  below  him 
to  be  mingled  indiscriminately  in  the  mass  of  the  population  over  which  he  rules. 
Thus  we  find  them  already  striving  to  give  a  more  oligarchical  character  to  the 
government.  The  so-called  court  of  African  or  ancient  American. princes  is  doubt- 
less the  council  which  surrounds  them  on  public  occasions.  Arbitrary  rule,  though 
we  find  no  doubt  traces  of  it  everywhere  in  the  lower  grades,  even  when  the  form 
of  government  is  republican,  has  its  basis  not  in  the  strength  of  the  state  or  the 


THE   STATE 


133. 


chief,  but  in  the  moral  weakness  of  the  individual,  who  submits  almost  without 
resistance  to  the  domineering  power.  In  spite  of  individual  tyranny  there  is  a 
vein  of  democracy  running  through  all  the  political  institutions  of  the  "  natural  " 
races.  Nor  could  it  well  be  otherwise  in  a  society  which  was  built  up  upon  the 
gens,  kindred  in  blood,  communistic,  under  the  system  of  "  mother-right."  But 
herein  lay  no  doubt  an  obstacle  to  progress. 
The  power  of  the 


sovereign  is  greatly 
strengthened  by  alli- 
ance with  the  priest- 
hood. A  tendency  to 
theocracy  is  incidental 
to  all  constitutions,  and 
very  often  the  import- 
ance of  the  priest  sur- 
passes that  of  the  ruler 
in  the  person  of  the 
chief.  The  weak  chiefs 
of  Melanesia,  in  order 
not  to  be  quite  power- 
less, apply  the  mystic 
Duk-Duk  system  to 
their  own  purposes  ; 
while  'vs\  Africa  it  is 
among  the  functions 
of  the  chief  to  make 
atonement  for  his 
people  by  magic  arts, 
when  they  have  in- 
curred' the  wrath  of 
higher  Powers,  and  to 
obtain  for  them  by 
prayers  or  charms  ad- 
vantages of  all  kinds. 
This,  however,  does 
not  prevent  the  influ- 
ence of  the  chief  from 
being  overshadowed 
by  that  of  a  priest 
who  happens  to  be  in  possession  of  some  great  fetish.  Conversion  to  Christianity 
has  almost  always  destroyed  the  power  of  the  native  chiefs,  unless  they  have 
contrived  to  take  the  people  with  them.  But  the  religious  sentiment  is  the  one 
thing  that  has  maintained  respect  for  a  chief's  children,  even  when  they  have 
become  slaves. 

The  power  of  the  chief  is  further  heightened  when  the  monopoly  of  trade  is 
combined  with  his  magic  powers.  Since  he  is  the  intermediary  of  trade,  he-  gets 
into  his  own  hands  everything  coveted  by  his  subjects,  and  becomes  the  bestower 
of  good  gifts,  the  fulfiller  of  the  most  cherished  wishes.     This  system  finds  its 


A  Dakota  chief.     (From  a  photograph. ) 


134  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

highest  development  in  Africa,  where  the  most  wealthy  and  liberal  chief  is 
reckoned  the  best.  In  it  lies  the  secure  source  of  great  power  and  often  of 
beneficial  results.  For  at  this  point  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  incitements  to  progress,  or,  let  us  say  more  cautiously,  to 
changes  in  the  amount  of  culture  which  a  race  possesses,  is  to  be  sought  in  the 
will  of  prominent  individuals.  We  also  find  chiefs,  however,  whose  power  is  firmly 
based  upon  superior  knowledge  or  skill.  The  Manyema  chief  Moenekuss,  so 
attractively  depicted  by  Livingstone,  was  keen  about  having  his  son  taught 
blacksmithing,  and  the  Namaqua  chief,  Lamert,  was  the  most  efficient  smith  among 
his  tribe.  But  of  course  it  is  in  the  art  of  war  that  accomplishment  is  most  valued 
in  a  chief  In  giving  judgment,  he  needs  no  great  abundance  of  Solomonian 
wisdom,  since  in  all  more  serious  accusations  the  culprit  is  ascertained  by  means 
of  magic,  and  in  this  duty  too  the  popular  council  generally  co-operates.  Mean- 
while whatever  the  chief's  position  may  be,  it  is  never  comparable  with  the  power 
conferred  by  the  wealth  of  culture  existing  in  a  European  people  ;  and  it  were 
to  hz  wished  that  descriptive  travellers  would  employ  such  terms  as  "  king," 
"  palace,"  and  the  like  with  more  discretion.  It  is  only  among  the  war-chiefs 
that  regal  parade  is  customary  ;  the  others  are  often  scarcely  distinguished  from 
tiieir  people. 

Every  race  has  some  kind  of  legal  system  ;  among  most  of  the  "  natural  " 
races,  indeed,  this  fluctuates  between  that  under  which  the  injured  person  takes 
the  law  into  his  own  hands,  and  that  of  money-atonement  for  the  offence.  There 
is  no  question  of  the  majesty  of  the  law  ;  all  that  is  thought  of  is  the  indemnifica- 
tion of  the  person  who  has  suffered  damage.  In  Malayan  law,  for  example,  the 
former  course  may  be  taken  with  a  culprit  caught  in  flagrante  delicto  even  to  the 
point  of  killing  a  thief ;  but  in  any  other  case  redemption,  that  is  a  money  penalty, 
is  enjoined  ;  and  similarly  among  the  negro  races.  Among  lower  as  well  as 
higher  races  violence  has  a  very  free  play,  and  tends  to  limit  its  sphere  as  among 
individuals  according  to  the  resistance  with  which  it  meets.  Blood-feuds  in 
various  degrees  are  to  be  found  among  all  barbarous  races.  In  the  case  of 
Polynesians  and  Melanesians  they  reach  a  fearful  pitch.  Cook  tells  us  that  the 
New  Zealanders  appeared  to  him  to  live  in  constant  mutual  dread  of  attack,  and 
that  there  were  very  few  tribes  who  did  not  conceive  themselves  to  have  suffered 
some  injury  at  the  hands  of  another  tribe  and  meditate  revenge  for  it. 

The  wars  of  "  natural "  races  are  often  far  less  bloody  than  those  waged 
among  ourselves,  frequently  degenerating  into  mere  caricatures  of  warlike  opera- 
tions. Still  the  loss  of  life  caused  by  them  must  not  be  under-estimated,  since 
they  last  for  a  long  time,  and  the  countries  inhabited  by  "  natural "  races  can  in 
any  case  show  only  small  population.  In  the  case  of  Fiji,  Mr.  Williams  estimates 
the  yearly  loss  of  human  lives  in  the  period  of  barbarism  at  1500  to  2000,  "not 
including  the  widows  who  were  strangled  as  soon  as  the  death  of  their  husbands 
was  reported."  These  figures  are  quite  sufficient  to  have  contributed  materially 
to  the  decrease  of  the  population.  Firearms  have  diminished  war,  while  increas- 
ing the  losses.  But  with  this  continual  war,  guerilla  war  as  it  might  be  termed, 
are  associated  those  catastrophes  resulting  from  raids,  in  which  great  destruction 
of  human  life  accompanies  the  outbreaks  of  warlike  passion.  The  final  aim  of  a 
serious  war  among  the  natural  races  is  not  the  defeat,  but  the  extermination  of 
the  adversary  ;  if  the   men   cannot  be  reached,  the   attack  is   made  upon  women 


THE   STATE 


135 


and  children,  especially  where  there  is  a  superstitious  passion  for  the  collection 
of  human  skulls,  as  among  the  head-hunting  Dyaks  of  Borneo.  Of  south-east 
Africa,  Harris  says  :  "  Whole  tribes  have  been  drawn  root  and  branch  from  their 
dwelling-places,  to  disappear  from  the  earth,  or  to  wander  with  varying  fortunes 
over  illimitable  tracts,  driven 
by  the  inexorable  arm  of 
hunger.  Therefore  for  hun- 
dreds of  miles  no  trace  of 
native  industry  meets  our  eyes, 
nor  does  any  human  habita- 
tion ;  never-ending  wars  pre- 
sent the  picture  of  one  unin- 
habited wilderness."  Rapine 
is  associated  with  murder  to 
produce  a  misery  which  civil- 
ized races  can  hardly  realise. 
But  the  culmination  of  this 
devastating  power  is  reached 
when  more  highly  endowed,  or 
at  least  better  organised  hordes 
of  warriors  and  plunderers, 
well  practised  in  slaughter  and 
cruelty,  appear  on  the  scene. 
Amputation  of  hands  and 
feet,  cutting  off  of  noses  and 
ears,  are  usual.  This  ill-treat- 
ment often  has  the  secondary 
object  of  marking  a  prisoner, 
and  to  this  must  be  referred 
the  tattooing  of  prisoners  of 
war.  Lichtenstein  saw  a 
Nama  whom  the  Damaras 
had  taken  prisoner.  They 
had  circumcised  him  and  ex- 
tracted his  middle  upper  front 
teeth :  "  He  showed  us  this, 
and  added  that  if  he  had 
been  caught  by  them  a  second 
time,  these  very  recognisable 
marks  would  inevitably  have  entailed  the  loss  of  his  life." 

Losses  of  life  and  health  may  be  repaired  by  a  few  generations  of  peace,  but 
what  remains  is  the  profound  moral  effect.  This  is  the  shattering  of  all  trust  in 
fellow-men  and  in  the  operation  of  moral  forces,  of  the  love  of  peace  and  the 
sanctity  of  the  pledged  word.  If  the  politics  of  civilized  races  are  not  distin- 
guished by  fidelity  and  confidence,  those  of  the  natural  races  are  the  expression 
of  the  lowest  qualities  of  mistrust,  treachery,  and  recklessness.  The  only  means 
employed  to  attain  an  object  are  trickery  or  intimidation.  In  the  dealings  of 
Europeans  with  natural  races  they  have,  owing  to  this,  had  the  great  advantage 


Articles  belonging  to  Dyak  Iiead-hunters  : — i.  Shield  ornamented  with 
human  hair  ;  2.  Sword  and  knife  ;  3.  Skull  with  engraved  ornament 
and  metal  plate  ;  4.  Basket  to  hold  a  skull,  (i  and  2  probably 
from  Kutei ;  3  and  4  from  W.  Borneo.     Munich  Museum. ) 


136  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

of  very  rarely  having  to  face  a  strong  combination  of  native  powers.  The  single 
example  of  any  great  note  is  the  alliance  of  the  "  six  nations  "  of  North  American 
Indians  belonging  to  the  Iroquois  stock,  which  was  dangerous  to  Europeans  in 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  An  attempt  at  an  alliance,  which 
might  have  been  very  serious,  was  made  after  the  so-called  Sand  River  treaty  of 
1852  by  Griquas,  Basutos,  Bakwenas,  and  other  Bechuana  tribes,  but  never 
came  to  completion,  and  recent  years  have  again  shown  abundantly  how  little 
the  South  African  tribes  can  do  in  spite  of  their  numbers  and  their  often  con- 
spicuous valour,  for  want  of  the  mutual  confidence  which  might  unite  them  and 
give  a  firm  ground  for  their  efforts. 

Constant  fear  and  insecurity  on  the  part  of  native  races  is  a  necessary  result 
of  frequent  treachery  on  that  of  their  foes.  It  is  significant  that  the  great 
majority  of  barbarous  peoples  are  so  fond  of  weapons  and  never  go  unarmed  ; 
and  nothing  better  indicates  the  higher  state  of  civic  life  in  Uganda  than  that 
walking  sticks  there  take  the  place  of  weapons.  It  is  noted  as  a  striking  feature 
when  no  weapons  are  carried,  as  Finsch  points  out  with  regard  to  the  people  of 
Parsee  Point  in  New  Guinea. 

The  custom  of  treating  strangers  as  enemies,  under  a  superstitious  fear  of 
misfortune  and  sickness,  or  of  knocking  on  the  head  persons  thrown  on  shore  by 
shipwreck  like  "  washed  up  cocoa-nuts,"  was  certainly  a  great  hindrance  to  expan- 
sion. But  we  hear  that  among  the  Melanesians  the  question  was  discussed 
whether  this  was  lawful,  and  that  even  strangers  used  to  link  themselves  by 
marriage  with  a  new  place.  If  they  belonged  to  a  neighbouring  island  or  group 
of  islands  they  were  not  treated  altogether  as  strangers,  since  they  were  not 
regarded  as  uncanny.  Polynesians,  who  were  frequently  driven  upon  the  Banks 
Islands,  were  received  there  in  a  friendly  manner.  If  scarcely  one  of  the  innumer- 
able exploring  expeditions  in  Australia  made  its  way  without  being  threatened 
or  attacked  by  the  aborigines,  we  must  not  overlook  involuntary  violations  of 
the  frontiers  of  native  districts,  for  even  to  this  day  in  Central  Australia  unlicensed 
entry  upon  foreign  territory  reckons  as  a  serious  trespass. 

Thus,  as  in  the  family  and  in  society,  we  meet  also  in  the  political  domain 
with  a  tendency  to  the  sharpest  separation.  Who  does  not  recognise  in  this 
latent  state  of  war  a  great  cause  of  the  backward  condition  of  the  "  natural  "  races  ? 
The  greatness  of  civilized  states,  which  have  worked  themselves  up  to  the  clear 
heights  of  development,  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  act  upon  each  other  by  means 
of  mutual  incitement,  and  so  are  ever  bringing  forth  more  perfect  results.  But 
this  mutual  incitement  is  just  what  is  missing  in  a  state  of  continuous  war.  The 
forces  which  make  for  culture  both  from  within  and  without  are  alike  weakened, 
and  the  consequence  is  stagnation  if  not  retrogression. 

Want  of  defined  frontiers  is  in  the  essence  of  the  formation  of  barbarous 
states.  The  line  is  intentionally  not  drawn,  but  kept  open  as  a  clear  space  of 
varying  breadth.  Even  when  we  reach  the  semi-civilized  states  the  frontiers  are 
liable  to  be  uncertain.  The  entire  state  is  not  closely  dependent  upon  the  area 
which  it  covers,  especially  not  upon  the  parts  near  the  borders.  Only  the  political 
centre,  the  most  essential  point  of  the  whole  structure,  is  fixed.  From  it  the 
power  which  holds  the  state  together  causes  its  strength  to  be  felt  through  the 
outlying  regions  in  varying  measure.  We  have  examples  of  frontier  points  and 
frontier  spaces   at   every  stage.       The  frontier  spaces   are   kept    clear,   and   even 


THE   STATE 


137 


serve  as  common  hunt- 
ing-grounds, but  they 
serve  also  as  habitations 
for  forces  hostile  to  civil 
authority,  forv  desper- 
adoes of  every  shade  of 
villainy. 

Not  infrequently  the 
formation  of  new  states 
starts  from  these  spaces. 
The  cases  in  which  sharp 
frontiers      are      soonest 
formed  is  where  the  two 
fundamentally    different 
modes  of  civilization  and 
life,  nomadism  and  agri- 
culture, come  in  contact. 
Here  of  necessity  fron- 
tiers are  sharply  drawn 
against     races     of     the 
steppes,  and   art   endea- 
vours   to    contribute   its 
aid    by    building    earth- 
works   and    even    walls. 
The  region  of  the  steppes 
is    the    country    of    the 
great  wall  of  China,  and 
of  the  ramparts  thrown 
up   by  Turks   and   Cos- 
sacks. 

Leopold  von  Ranke 
has  stated  as  a  maxim 
of  experience  that  when 
we  study  universal  his- 
tory it  is  not  as  a  rule 
great  monarchies  that 
first  present  themselves, 
but  small  tribal  districts 
or  confederacies  of  the 
nature  of  states.  This 
is  shown  in  the  history 
of  all  great  empires  ; 
even  the  Chinese  can  be 
carried  back  to  small 
beginnings.  No  doubt 
they  have  been  of  short 
duration  with  the  single 
exception  of  the  Roman 


Kingsmill  Islander  in  full  armour.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology.) 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Empire.  Even  that  of  China  has  passed  through  its  periods  of  breaking  up. 
From  the  Roman  Empire  the  nations  have  learnt  how  great  territories  must  be 
ruled  in  order  to  keep  them  great  in  extent,  for  since  its  time  history  has  seen 
many  empires,  even  surpassing  the  Roman  in  magnitude,  arise  and  maintain 
themselves  for  centuries.  Apart  from  the  way  in  which  the  teaching  of  history 
__  has  been  taken  to 

heart,  the  increase 
of  population  and 
the  consequent  ac- 
cession of  import- 
ance to  the  ma- 
terial interests  of 
the  people  has  un- 
questionably con- 
tributed to  this. 

But  there  are 
deeper- lying  rea- 
sons for  the  small- 
ness  of  primitive 
states.  Among 

most  "  natural " 
races  the  family 
and  the  society 
form  unions  so 
large,  so  frequently 
coinciding,  so  ex- 
clusive, that  little 
remains  to  spare 
for  the  state.  The 
rapid  break-up  of 
empires  is  counter- 
balanced by  the 
sturdy  tribal  life. 
When  the  empires 
fall  to  pieces  new 
ones  form  them- 
selves from  the  old 
tribes.  The  family 
of   blood -relations, 

u  1  MI  '"    their    common 

barrack  or  village,  represents  at  the  same  time  a  political  unit,  which  can  from 
time  to  time  enter  into  combination  with  others  of  the  kind  ;  to  which  oerhaos 
It  IS  bound  by  more  distant  relationship.  But  it  is  quite  content  to  remain  by 
Itself  so  ong  as  no  external  power  operates  to  shake  its  narrow  contentment 
Negro  Africa  with  all  its  wealth  of  population,  contains  no  single  really  large 
state.  In  that  _  country,  the  greater  an  empire  the  less  its  duration  and  the 
looser  Its  cohesion.  It  requires  greater  organising  and  consolidating  power 
such   as    we    meet  with  among  the    Fulbes  or  Wahuma,   not  merely   to  found' 


Lango  chief  and  magician. 


(From  a  photograph  by  Richard  Buchta. ) 


1.  Difuma  dia  Di- 
kongo.  Iron  sceptre, 
borne  by  the  Bashi- 
lang  chief,  Mana  Kat- 
embe. 

2.  Baluba  wooden 
shield  with  cross-weav- 
ing. 

3.  Basonge  chief's 
staff  of  iron  ;  the  figure 
overlaid  with  sheet- 
copper. 

4.  Basonge  orna- 
mental spear  (Zappu 
Zapp)  inlaid  with 
copper. 

5.  Ornamental 
spear  from  the  Ruiki. 

6.  Basonge  spear. 

7.  Baluba  spear. 

8.  Samba  spear. 

9.  Baluba  double 
drum. 

I  o.  Baluba  woven 
bark  mat. 

II.  Baluba  big 
drum,  used  at  festivals. 

(i-io  from  the 
Wissmann  Collection  ; 
1 1  from  the  Pogge 
Collection. ) 


Insignia,  ornamental  weapons,  and  drums  from  the  Southern  Congo  territory. 


I40  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


but  also,  even  if  with  difficulty,  to  maintain  kingdoms  like  Sokoto  or  Uganda. 
Even  the  Zulus,  high  as  they  stand  in  warlike  organisation,  have  never  been 
able  to  spread  permanently  beyond  their  natural  boundaries,  and  at  the  same 
time  maintain  cohesion  with  their  own  country.  They  have  not  the  capacity 
for  planning  a  peaceable  organisation.  Even  in  the  Mussulman  states  of 
the  Soudan  we  meet  with  this  want  of  firm  internal  cohesion  ;  which  is  equally 
at  the  bottom  of  the  weakness  which  brought  down  the  native  states  of  Central 
and  South  America.  The  more  closely  we  look  at  the  actual  facts  about  Old 
Mexico,  the  less  inclined  shall  we  be  to  apply  terms  like  empire  and  emperor  to 
the  loose  confederation  of  chiefs  on  the  plateau  of  Anahuac.  The  greatness  of 
the  Inca  realm  was  exaggerated  to  the  point  of  fable.  When  we  hear  of  the 
renowned  and  redoubtable  tribe  of  the  Mandan  Indians,  we  are  astonished  to 
learn  that  it  numbered  only  from  900  to  lood  souls.  In  the  Malay  Archipelago 
it  seems  not  to  have  been  until  the  arrival  of  Islam  that  the  formation  of  states 
rose  above  disjointed  village  communities.  Even  in  our  own  day  the  great 
powers  of  South  and  East  Asia  lacked  the  clearness  and  definition  in  the  matter 
of  political  allegiance,  which  are  a  privilege  of  the  higher  civilizations. 

Instead  of  the  extension  of  single  states,  what  takes  place  is  the  foundation 
of  new  ones  by  migration  and  conquest.  It  is  the  multiplication  of  cells  by  fission 
instead  of  the  growth  of  the  organism.  It  is  striking  how  often  the  same  legend 
or  tradition  recurs  in  Africa  or  elsewhere.  A  monarch  sends  out  a  band  of 
warriors  to  conquer  a  country  or  a  town  ;  if  the  enterprise  fails  they  settle  down 
quietly  and  marry  the  daughters  of  the  people  whom  they  came  to  overthrow. 
Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Matabele  ;  such,  it  is  said,  that  of  the  kindred  Masitu. 
Thus  too  are  explained  the  Fulbe  settlements  on  the  Lower  Niger,  and  the  Chinese 
oases  in  the  Shan  States.  Without  crediting  all  these  traditions,  we  may  see  in 
them  a  proof  at  once  of  the  great  part  played  by  war  in  blending  races  in  ancient 
times,  and  of  the  difficulty  of  founding  coherent  states.  Instead  of  these  we  find 
colonies  which  cut  themselves  loose  either  peaceably  or  after  a  war.  The  Alfurs 
of  the  eastern  islands  in  the  Malay  Archipelago  have  definite  rules  for  the 
government  of  their  colonies  ;  and  in  Polynesia  of  old,  colonisation  must  have 
been  as  necessary  in  the  life  of  a  state  as  formerly  in  Greece. 

Among  races  in  a  low  stage  the  cementing  force  of  contests  waged  against 
natural  dangers,  threatening  the  entire  community  and  binding  them  together  for 
common  defence,  is  naturally  but  little  felt.  A  strongly  uniting  power,  by  pro- 
moting the  value  of  common  interests,  has  a  favourable  effect  on  the  general 
culture.  In  the  low-lying  tracts  on  the  coast  of  the  North  Sea,  in  Germany  and 
Holland,  the  common  danger  from  broken  dykes  and  inundation  by  reason  of 
furious  storms  and  high  tides  has  evoked  a  feeling  of  union  which  has  had 
important  results.  There  is  a  deep  meaning  in  the  myths  which  intimately 
connect  the  fight  against  these  forces  of  Nature,  these  hundred-headed  hydras,  or 
sea-monsters  crawling  on  to  the  land,  with  the  extortion  of  the  highest  benefits 
for  races  in  the  foundation  of  states  and  the  acquisition  of  culture.  No  race 
shows  this  more  than  the  Chinese,  whose  land,  abounding  in  streams  and 
marshes,  was  able  to  offer  more  than  sufficient  work  to  its  embanking  and  draining 
heroes — Schem,  Schun,  Jao,  and  their  like.  In  Egypt  a  similar  effect  of  the 
anxiety  for  the  yearly  watering  and  marking  out  of  the  land  is  obvious  from 
history. 


THE  STATE  Hi 


Generally  all  common  needs  which  draw  men  out  of  barren  isolation  must 
have  the  effect  of  promoting  culture.  Above  all,  too,  they  strengthen  the  con- 
stitution which  organises  the  work  done  to  satisfy  those  needs.  States  are  created 
by  common  sovereignty  and  common  requirements.  But  the  sovereignty  must 
come  first.  Outside  the  sphere  of  European  civilization  almost  all  states  are  ruled 
by  intruding  conquerors  ;  that  is  by  foreigners.  The  consciousness  of  national 
dentity  does  not  come  into  existence  until  later,  and  then  makes  its  way  as  a 
state-forming  force  if  the  intellectual  interests  of  the  race  add  their  weight  on  the 
same  side.  In  almost  all  countries  representing  greater  political  units,  we  find 
for  this  reason  various  nationalities.  At  first  one:  is  superior  to  another,  then  they 
are  co-ordinate  ;  it  is  only  in  small  states  that  the  entire  people  has  all  along  been 


formed  of  a  single  stock. 


BOOK   II 

THE  AMERICAN-PACIFIC  GROUP  OF  RACES 

A.  ^  1-9,  Races  of  Oceania — B.  §§  10-15,  Races  of  Australia — C.  §§  16-21,  Malays  and  Mala- 
gasies—  D  i.  §§  22-30,  Americans  and  Hyperboreans — D.  ii.  §§  31-32,  Civilized  races  of 
early  America — E.  §  33,  The  Arctic  races. 


MAP    OF    THE   RACES    OF    OCEANIA  and  AUSTRALASIA 


EXJrom  90     Greernvich. 


Stpai^hihaired  ,  ligllt-brorwTi  Race  (Jfalqvs.purRor  jnix-edwith  Chinese,  Japanese  and  Indicm-s  ) 


^^^^  CrispKaired  ,  (lark-l)roTVil  Race  {Melancsians ,  Papuas,  Neffritos j 

W'-v,^-  "k-^-^^J     "K^«,*™.  "R^--!.   /        separate. or  mixed  witli  the  two  aljove  iLamed        \ 
KVj  hatred  .  l>rawiiBace  {EastFalajs.so-calUdAmLrs,Foljnesians  &AusiraUzt7is  > 

S  ub  d  iv  i  s  i  o  11  s  : 

A  £astMalajs  (with,  curled,  hair)     B  Mieranesiaas    C  Tohmesians     D  Ausiralians 
E  Malofjasies 


'  "'"     Limits  of  the  districts  ivhere  the  adiur^  ontice^,  Sago,  Bread-fruit,  Taro  and  Yam  prevails. 
4.4  +  -f ++  Souffiem  Umit  of  tetterJwuse-bmldinff ,  associated-  oceasionalij  -with,  aqrieidJiire: 
Fo^Tutsiaiv  coloTiies  in.  Melanesia,  and.  MicroTiesia . 

•Distrift-  of  preraSijig  Chinese  i and  formerly  Japane.se- >  ijifhtence.. 
-  District  of  prevailing  Indian,  inflizence. 


Bibliographisch.es  Institul  Leipzig- 


3  4  1  7 

Polynesian  clubs  and  insignia  of  rank, 
i,  ^.  State-paddles  from  the  Hervey  Islands.     3-5.   State-clubs  from  the  Marquesas.     6-11.   Clul\s  from  Tonga. 


A.    THE    RACES   OF   OCEANIA 

§   I.  GENERAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  GROUP 

The  position  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  history — The  Indians  of  Columbus — Situation  of  America  in  the  inhabited 
world — Racial  resemblances  of  the  people  of  Oceania  to  Malays  and  Indians — Ethnographic  relation- 
ships—Position of  Japan  and  North-west  America — The  great  groups ;  Oceanians,  Malays  with  Mala- 
gasies, Australians,  Americans — The  Malayo-Polynesian  family  of  languages — To  what  period  are  the 
relations  of  America,  Oceania,  and  Asia  to  be  referred — The  vacant  space  between  Easter  Island  and 
Peru,  and  the  relations  of  America  with  Polynesia. 

Since  the  Pacific  ocean  lies  between  the  eastern  and  western  portions  of  the 
inhabited  earth,  the  inhabitants  of  its  islands  appear  in  a  general  survey  as  the 
instruments  of  an  important  ethnographical  connection.  From  its  western  border 
we  can  follow  Asiatic  traces  far  towards  the  east  in  a  gradual  transition  across 
the  islands.  They  grow  fainter  as  we  go  east,  but  some  remain  even  in  the  most 
eastern  islets  of  Polynesia,  and  some  are  found  again  on  the  opposite  shore, 
especially  in  those  districts  of  North-west  America  which  are  distinguished  by  points 
of  agreement  with  Polynesia.  It  has  been  pointed  out  in  the  first  section  of  our 
introduction  how  closely  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pacific  islands  are  connected  with 
the  Americans  by  the  stone-period  civilization,  which  is  common  and  fundamental 
to  the  eastern  half  of  mankind,  as  well  as  by  that  inclusion  in  the  Mongolian  race, 
which  applies  to  by  far  the  greater  part  of  them.  This  connection  is  one  of  the 
most  important  facts  in  the  ethnographical  distribution  of  the  human  race  as  it  now 
exists.  It  has  been  said  that  the  key  to  the  greatest  problems  of  ethnography  is 
to  be  found  in  America.  If  we  can  succeed  in  bringing  the  inhabitants  of  this  the 
largest  and  most  isolated  island  of  the  world  into  connection  with  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, then  in  any  case  the  unity  of  the  human  race  is  established.  But  the  con- 
nection can  only  be  sought  by  way  of  the  Pacific,  for  ancient  America  looks  westward. 
From  this  side  America  must  have  been  discovered  long  before  the  Northmen  found 
their  way  to  its  shores  from  the  east.  Among  the  peculiarities  of  the  inhabitants 
■of  Guanahani  which  most  astonished  Columbus,  was  their  lack  of  iron,  as  he  noted 
in  his  log-book  as  long  ago  as  13th  October  1492.  No  subsequent  discovery  has 
succeeded  in  putting  this  significant  fact  of  old  American,  and  at  the  same  time 
of  Oceanian,  ethnography  in  another  light.  With  the  exception  of  a  strip  in  the 
north-west,  which  became  acquainted  with  iron  from  Asia,  America  was,  when 
discovered,  still  in  the  stone  age.  Even  its  more  civilized  races,  while  producing 
highly  artistic  work  in  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  bronze,  use  weapons  and  imple- 
ments of  stone.  When  Africa  was  discovered  by  the  Europeans  it  was  manufac- 
turing iron  right  away  to  the  Hottentot  country.  The  races  of  the  Malay 
Archipelago  wrought  artistically  in  iron.  In  Northern  Asia  only  one  strip  on 
the  coast  where  their  traffic  was  small  was  without  iron.  Thus  the  domain  of 
the  ironless  races  lies  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  inhabited  earth  ;  it  embraces 

L 


146 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Australia,  the  Pacific  Islands,  the  Arctic  region,  and  America.  Absence  of  iron 
implies  limitation  to  the  use  of  stone,  bone,  or  wood,  for  imperfect  weapons  and 
utensils  implies,  too,  exclusion  from  the  possibility  of  such  industrial  progress  as 
is  based  upon  iron  and  steel.  Within  the  line  which  includes  the  ironless  races 
there  is  to  be  observed  also  the  want  of  the  most  valuable  domestic  animals  ;  oxen, 
buffaloes,  sheep,  goats,  elephants,  camels,  are  here  unknown,  and  consequently 
there  is  no  cattle-breeding. 

The  racial  affinities  of  the  Americans  also  point,  not  across  the  Atlantic,  but 


Araucanian  man  and  woman.     (From  a  photograph  ) 


across  the  Pacific.  When  Columbus  said  of  the  natives  of  the  West  Indies, 
"  they  are  neither  white  nor  black,''  he  means  that  he  can  compare  them  neither 
with  Europeans  nor  negroes.  In  later  times  the  difference  of  the  Americans 
from  negroes,  and  their  resemblance  to  the  races  on  the  western  border  of  the 
Pacific,  has  often  been  more  clearly  indicated.  Whatever  isolated  characteristics 
we  may  yet  be  able  to  adduce  among  all  races  at  a  similar  level  of  civilisation,, 
the  Americans  stand  nearest  to  those  who  live  to  the  westward  of  them.  If  we 
unroll  a  map  on  Mercator's  projection,  and  cast  our  eyes  upon  the  earth  and  its 
races,  the  Americans  find  their  place  on  the  east  wing  contrasted  with,  and 
furthest  separated  from  those  who  have  their  dwelling  on  the  eastern  borders  of 
the  dividing  gulf  of  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

As  the  most  easterly  part  of  the  Pacific-American  region  of  the  stone-using 
countries,  America  is  at  the  same  time  the  true  Orient  of  the  inhabited  earth. 
The  whole  of  America  shares  with  Polynesia,  and   did  once  share  with   Northern 


GENERAL   SURVEY  OF  THE    GROUP  147 

Asia,  all  the  distinctive  marks  of  stone-age  countries,  which  have  sometimes  a  more 
Polynesian,  sometimes  a  more  Northern  Asiatic  character.  It  is,  however,  in  many 
respects  poorer  than  either,  since  it  possesses  neither  the  pig  nor  the  taro  of  the 
Polynesians,  nor  the  reindeer  herds  of  Northern  Asia.  This  poverty,  due  to 
remoteness,  confirms  us  in  the  notion  that  in  America  we  have  the  final  link  in 
a  chain  of  distribution  of  which  the  beginning  is  to  be  sought  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Atlantic.  With  the  ordinary  idea  that  American  evolution  exhibits 
an  isolated,  almost  insulated,  independence,  our  view  is  only  apparently  in  contra- 
diction. Within  the  lines  of  its  affinity  with  the  eastern  lands  of  the  inhabited 
world,  America  is,  in  any  case,  a  region  of  extreme  independence,  firmly  based  on 
the  geographical  fact  of  its  situation  between  the  two  largest  oceans.  But  this 
finds  expression  far  less  in  individual  ethnographical  peculiarities  than  in  points  of 
conformity  which  mark  it  off  as  a  whole.  The  .specialty  is  not  of  kind  but  of 
degree.  If  we  look  at  bodily  characteristics,  the  conformity  of  all  Red  Indians 
among  themselves  is  very  great,  so  long  as  we  consider  skin,  hair,  and  physiognomy  ; 
but  if  we  include  the  skull,  it  breaks  down.  Here  we  are  in  presence  of  the  same 
contradiction  that  meets  us  as  an  internal  point  of  difference  among  the  islanders 
of  the  Pacific.  With  A.  von  Humboldt,  with  the  Prince  of  Wied,  and  with  Morton, 
we  can  only  hold  fast  to  the  external  unity  of  the  race.  The  results  of  investigating 
the -skulls  will,  to  all  appearance,  only  prove  that  a  more  ancient  variety  of  racial 
elements  is  concealed  under  the  insular  uniformity  of  to-day.  But  there  can  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  affinity  of  the  American  tribes  with  the  great  Mongoloid  race, 
and,  moreover,  with  that  branch  of  it  to  which  the  dwellers  in  Eastern  Oceania 
belong.  Of  both  the  similarity  is  shown  in  a  comparison  of  colour,  hair,  and 
skeleton. 

What  in  a  racial  point  of  view-severs  the  people  of  Oceania  most  profoundly 
from  their  neighbours  to  the  eastward,  is  the  unmistakable  extension  of  the 
Indo-African  group  of  races  into  the  midst  of  their  island-region.  Individual 
small  groups  of  these  negroids  are  undoubtedly  scattered  over  all  the  archipelagos, 
and  have  here  and  there  imparted  to  the  original  Malay  colouring  a  deeper 
Polynesian  tint ;  but  neither  are  traces  of  them  lacking  in  America.  The 
species  of  mankind  that  occur  in  the  South  Sea  Islands  were  long  ago  brought 
by  Forster  into  two  main  divisions.  One  was  lighter  coloured,  better  shaped,  of 
strong  muscular  build,  handsome  stature,  and  gentle,  good-natured  character  ;  the 
other  blacker,  with  hair  becoming  crisp  and  wavy,  leaner,  smaller,  almost  more  lively 
than  the  other,  but  at  the  same  time  more  suspicious.  These  are  the  "  Poly- 
nesians "  and  "  Melanesians  "  of  more  recent  ethnographers.  They  cannot  always 
be  distinguished.  Where  it  was  supposed  that  only  members  of  the  latter  group 
existed,  scattered  examples,  nay,  sometimes  whole  tribes  of  the  lighter-skinned 
straight-haired  race  have  turned  up  ;  while  even  among  the  Samoans,  Virchow  is 
decided  in  assuming  a  certain  negroid  strain.  Finsch  describes  the  natives  of 
Port  Moresby  as  follows  :  "  We  find  here  every  variety,  from  perfectly  smooth 
hair  to  the  twisted  wig  of  the  Papua  ;  curiy  heads,  some  of  a  red  blonde,  are 
frequent ;  Japanese  or  Jewish  physiognomies,  even  men  with  eagle  noses,  remind- 
ing one  of  Redskins,  are  not  rare.  So  too  with  the  colour  of  the  skin."  The 
least  we  can  do  is  to  leave  the  possibility  of  mixed  descent  an  open  question,  as 
Wilkes  did  with  the  Paumotu  Islanders.  The  question  of  origin  becomes  more 
complicated  ;  but  it  is  surely  better,  in  place  of  assuming  a  pure  Polynesian  origin 


148 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


from  the  north-east,  to  draw  also  a  line  of  affinity  towards  the  north-west,  than 
with  Crozet  and  others  to  drag  up  again  the  worn-out  hypothesis  of  a  dark-skinned 
"  primeval  population."  If  two  races  dwell  in  the  Pacific,  two  races  may  have 
migrated  thither,  especially  if  they  were  used  to  sea  and  ships. 

The  race-relationship  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  Malay  Archipelago  is  apt  to 
be  asserted  with  all  the  more  emphasis  because  the  language-relationship  so  clearly 
points  to  it.  But  we  must  keep  these  two  relationships  quite  distinct.  Those 
races  of  the   Malay  Archipelago  which   show  Asiatic  affinities   in   lighter  skin   or 


Bakairi  girl  from  the  Kulishu  river.     (After  Dr.  R.  von  den  Steinen. ) 

Chinese  eyes,  are  perhaps  more  strongly  represented  in  some  islands  of  Micronesia. 
The  real  Polynesians  are  more  closely  linked  to  the  races  with  negroid  elements 
in  them  dwelling  eastward  from  Java  and  the  Philippines.  Physically  the  Poly- 
nesians are  less  like  the  inhabitants  of  the  Malay  Archipelago  than  are  the  Hovas 
of  Madagascar.  Since  the  time  of  the  elder  Lesson  it  has  been  usual  to  trace  the 
descent  of  the  Polynesians  from  Dyaks,  Battaks,  Maoris,  Alfurs,  owing  to  their 
obviously  small  resemblance  to  the  Malays  proper.  Topinard  even  refers  the  mass 
of  the  Polynesians  to  North  America ;  holding  that  conquerors,  in  no  great 
number,  may  have  come  from  Buru  in  Celebes  ;  but  we  do  not  yet  possess  the 
fuller  anthropological  evidence,  based  on  a  multiplication  of  measurements,  required 
to  prove  this  view.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  replaces  the  artificial  theory,  insuf- 
ficiently grounded  on  either  philology  or  ethnology,  of  a  single  immigration  and 
simple  branching-off,  by  a  permeation  and  cleavage  of  races.  In  the  next  section,  on 
the  migration  of  the  Polynesians,  we  shall  adduce  a  series  of  facts  in  support  of  it. 


GENERAL  SURVEY  OF  THE   GROUP 


149 


Given  the  existence  of  a  group  of  sea-faring  races,  who,  gradually  by  dint  of 
uninterrupted  voluntary  and  involuntary  migration,  occupied  various  coast  and 
island-districts  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  there  follows  necessarily,  if  we  allow  for  long 
periods,  a  wide  distribution  over  this  large  district ;  and  therewith  arises  that 
ethnographic  agreement  which  connects  the  lands  on  the  eastern  and  western 
borders  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Zuniga's  meteorological  basis  of  belief  for  asserting 
the  South  American  origin  of  the  Tagals,  namely,  the  impossibility  of  bearing  up 
against  the  south-east  trades,  can  as  little  be  maintained  as  the  likeness  asserted 
by  him  to  exist  between  Tagalese  and  Chilian.  Since  his  day  the  knowledge  of  the 
ethnography  of  the  American  races  has  pro- 
gressed. We  see  how  both  east  and  west 
of  the  Pacific  religious  beliefs  and  usages 
are  based  upon  the  same  animistic  belief 
and  upon  an  ancestor-worship  which  not 
only  stands  on  a  similar  footing,  but 
often  assumes  precisely  concordant  forms  ; 
just  as  the  treatment  of  corpses  and  the 
procedure  of  the  priests  embrace  a  whole 
host  of  similar  practices.  The  principles 
of  cosmogony,  the  high  importance  at- 
tached to  the  tribal  symbols,  even  less 
prominent  legends  like  that  of  the  foun- 
tain of  life — Boas  has  briefly  indicated 
the  remarkable  conformity  of  north-west 
American  legends  with  those  of  the  Ainus 
and  of  Micronesia — and  inconspicuous  ex- 
pedients of  daily  life,  such  as  the  employ- 
ment of  narcotics  in  the  capture  of  fish,  or 
the  shape  of  the  fish-hooks,  the  dressing 
of  fish  by  steaming,  the  preparation  of  fer- 
mented liquors,  are  alike  in  both  regions. 
Valuable  evidence  is  given  by  conform- 
ities in  tattooing,  in  painting  the  body,  in     > 

details  of  decorative  mutilation  ;  more  especially  in  the  style  of  the  necklaces 
made  of  little  polished  disks  of  red,  white,  and  black  shells.  Even  the  metallic 
wealth  of  America  could  not  oust  the  use  of  stone,  bones,  and  shells.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  important  feature,  we  have  already  pointed  out  the  common 
prevalence  of  a  definite  type  of  economic  life.  We  may  refer  once  more  to 
the  weapons ;  the  encroachment  of  the  Asiatic  bow  upon  North  and  Central 
America  or  the  similarity  of  the  same  weapon  in  South  America  and  Melanesia. 
On  Nissan,  in  the  Solomon  Islands,  a  stone  axe  has  lately  been  discovered 
with  a  chamfer  running  almost  round,  just  like  the  American,  and  like  them 
fastened  into  a  piece  of  wood  split  into  a  fork.  Probably  many  more  finds  of 
this  sort  will  occur.  Wicker  armour  and  cuirasses,  with  protection  for  the  neck, 
are  most  widely  spread  on  the  Asiatic  and  American  borders  of  the  Pacific  ;  but 
extend  far  into  the  island  world  of  the  tropics.  Throwing-sticks  were  at  one  time 
thought  to  exist  only  among  Australians  and  Eskimos  ;  now  specimens  are  known 
also   from    Mexico  and    Brazil.      In    North-west   America,   as   in    many   parts   of 


Maori  girl. 


(From  photograph  in  the  possession  of 
Dr.  Max  Buchner. ) 


I50 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Oceania,  especially  in  the  Bismarck  Archipelago,  dancing-masks  are  used,  with 
curious  ornamentation  based  upon  the  conventionalised  figures  of  animals.  In 
one  region  we  find  otter  and  frog,  beaver  and  hawk,  arranged  together ;  in  the 
other  snake,  lizard,  fish,  beetle,  bird.  The  masks  of  New  Ireland  remind  us  to 
a  striking  degree  of  those  used  by  the  Haidas.  Less  importance  is  to  be  assigned 
to  the  fact  that  in  both  these  cases  the  eyes,  and  the  ornaments  in  the  shape 
of  eyes,  are  made  with  inlaid  shell,  than  to  the  striking  agreement  in  the 
connection  formed  by  the  tongue  dependent  between  the  upper  part,  representing 


Men  of  Ponap^  in  the  Carolines.     {From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album.) 

a  broad  animal's  head,  and  a  second  animal.  This  arrangement  of  animals'  heads 
in  a  row  along  the  middle  line  reminds  us  of  North  America,  no  less  than  the 
eye-ornament,  which  is  an  essential  element  of  the  Pacific  and  American  styles. 
We  must  indeed  note  that  it  is  not  always  between  races  lying  nearest  to  each 
other  that  the  closest  relations  prevail.  On  the  other  we  meet  agreements  not 
merely  at  single  points,  but  running  all  through  the  groups.  Thus  not  merely 
does  the  Dyak  loom  resemble  that  used  by  the  Indians  of  North-west  America  ; 
the  practice  of  head-hunting,  the  cult  of  skulls,  the  use  of  human  hair  for  orna- 
ment, are  common  to  both.  The  ornament  of  Malay  fabrics  is  remarkably  like 
that  of  the  early  Americans.  Among  the  Calchaquis  of  Northern  Argentina  we 
find  pottery  painted  with  line  drawings  of  birds,  reptiles,  and  human  faces,  which 
remind  us  of  Peruvian,  and  no  less,  in  selection  and  conventional  treatment  of  the 
themes,  of  Malay  work.  In  customs  too  several  features  recur  in  a  marked  way. 
Particular  forms  of  greeting,  the  declaration  of  an  agreement  by  the  transfer  of 


GENERAL  SURVEY  OF  THE   GROUP 


151 


a  piece  of  stick,  the  method  of  communicating  by  means  of  wooden  drums,  and  so 
on.  But  over  all  arises,  like  a  great  edifice  common  to  all,  the  social  order  based 
on  "  mother-right "  and  exogamy.  We  find  it  most  distinctly  in  Australia  and 
Melanesia  ;  then  again  in  America,  while  between  the  two,  in  Polynesia,  lies  a 
region  in  which  it  has  broken  down  and  become  obsolete.  In  South  and  North 
America  we  meet  with  the  same  system,  often  repeated  even  in  small  details. 

The  impoverishment  which  we  find  becoming  more  and  more  conspicuous  in 
the  animal  and  vegetable  world  of  Oceania,  as  we  proceed  eastwards,  in  no  way 
holds  good  of  mankind.  In  the  Pacific  the  most  recent  development  holds 
the  eastern  parts  ;  the  west  and  south  are  backward.  The  Melanesians  occupy 
as  it  were  a  depression  in  the  level  of 
culture  between  Malays  on  the  one 
hand  and  Polynesians  on  the  other. 
But  on  the  South  American  shores  we 
find  in  Peru  a  region  of  yet  higher  cul- 
ture. If  to  the  works  of  art  we  add 
what  is  from  an  ethnographic  point  of 
view  a  more  important  intellectual  pos- 
session, namely  religious  conceptions, 
together  with  social  and  political  insti- 
tutions, we  find  the  east  standing  higher 
than  the  west ;  and  that  is  true  not 
only  for  Melanesia,  but  for  Micronesia 
■as  well.  No  mistake  on  this  point  need 
arise  from  the  fact  that  more  objects 
in  our  museums  come  from  islands 
which  have  been  ransacked  later,  or 
which  have  fallen  less  into  decay  by 
reason  of  white  influence.  In  the 
general  position  held  by  the  two  great 

Pacific  groups  of  races  towards  each  other  we  can  recognise  a  great  difference  of 
level.  The  Melanesians  are  on  the  whole  inferior  to  the  Polynesians ;  they 
represent  an  earlier  development,  retaining  much  which  among  the  latter  has 
already  become  obsolete.  We  cannot,  however,  at  the  present  day  decide  whether 
the  proximity  of  America  or  independent  evolution  has  been  the  cause  of  this_ 
superiority  in  the  eastern  parts  of  Oceania.  Still  not  only  the  points  of  agree- 
ment, but  also  the  far  shorter  distance,  are  in  favour  of  America. 

If  we  group  the  races  of  this  wide  region  into  the  Americans  dwelling  on  the 
eastern  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  on  its  western 
border,  on  the  south,  and  far  out  in  the  ocean,  we  may  denote  the  second  group 
by  the  name  of  Oceanians,  seeing  that  the  Pacific  is  the  only  ocean  that  possesses 
so  widespread  a  population  having  a  character  peculiar  to  itself  The  possession 
(or  lack)  of  a  host  of  important  articles  links  the  oceanic  races  together  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  Malays  on  the  west  and  the  Australians  on  the  south.  From 
the  Australians  they  are  sharply  divided  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  they  are 
connected  with  the  Malays  by  transitions  which  point  partly  to  a  closer  connection 
of  origin,  partly  to  influences  of  long  standing.  But  as  they  have  many  points, 
notably   the   use   of  stone,  in   common   with   the  Americans,  while   the  Malays 


Boy  of  New  Ireland       (From  a  photograph  ) 


is: 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


are    within    the    domain    of    iron,    they   hold    a    very    different    position    towards 
these  latter  from  that  held  for  example  by  the  most  westerly  outliers  of  that 

race,  the  Malagasies. 
While  the  Oceanic  and 
Australian  races  have, 
together  with  the 
Americans,  remained 
in  the  stone  period  of 
civilization,  the  Aus- 
tralians indeed  degen- 
erating in  their  isola- 
tion, Malays  and  Mala- 
gasies have  gained  by 
means  of  influences 
from  Asia  and  Africa. 
The  importance  of  the 
Malays  lies  to  a  great 
extent  in  the  fact  that 
they  have  been  instru- 
mental in  the  diffusion 
of  these  influences 
eastward.  But  the 
connection  of  the 
Oceanians  with  them 
reaches  back  to  an 
early  period.  When 
the  regions  of  Oceania 
were  first  unveiled  to 
Europeans  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  iron 
was  found  to  have 
advanced  as  far  as 
New  Guinea,  and  the 
influence  of  India,  as 
shown  by  details  of 
language  and  artistic 
style,  had  extended  to 
the  same  point.  This 
influence  was  spread 
by  those  active  traders 
and  expert  seamen,  the 
Malays,  and  with  the 
support  of  Eastern 
Asia,  which  had  not 
then  elevated  exclu- 
siveness  to  a  principle  of  state,  but  had  kept  up  an  active  traffic  with  the  south, 
it  would  have  spread  further.  According  to  the  statement  of  George  Spilberg, 
the  crews  of  the  fleet,  which  was  equipped  in  1 6 1 6  against  the  Dutch  in  Manilla, 


Man  of  Xe«-  South  Wales.      (From  a  photograph.) 


GENERAL   SURVEY  OF   THE    GROUP 


153 


were  composed  of  Indians,  Chinese,  and  Japanese.  An  Indian  bronze  bell,  with 
an  inscription  in  Tamil,  has  been  found  in  the  interior  of  New  Zealand  ;  it  was 
the  ship's  bell  of  some  Mussulman  Tamil,  and  dates  from  the  fourteenth  century 
at  latest.  The  place  of  these  weak  and  irregularly-acting  influences  has  now  been 
taken  by  the  weighty  advance  of  the  Europeans,  under  whose  hands  in  the  course 
of  300  years  almost  all  that  was  peculiar  has  died  out,  together  with  a  great  part 
of  the  population. 

The  Malayo-Polynesians  are  at  this  day  the  most  pronouncedly  insular  people 
on  the  earth ;  their  only  remaining 
hold  on  the  mainland  is  by  the  penin- 
sula of  Malacca.  iBut  we  may  main- 
tain a  continental  origin  for  individual 
tribes  now  living  on  islands,  like  the 
Malays  and  Acheenese  of  Sumatra, 
without  any  inducement  from  the  desire 
of  finding  an  origin,  or  so-called  cradle 
of  mankind,  for  all  the  races  of  the 
earth,  on  the  continent  of  Asia.  H. 
Kern  assumes,  on  philological  grounds 
that  the  home  of  the  Malayo-Poly- 
nesians, including  the  Malagasies,  was 
situated  in  a  tropical  country,  where 
sugar-cane,  coco-nut,  rice,  banana,  rattan, 
and  iaro  grew,  and  where  they  were 
acquainted  with  dogs,  pigs,  poultry, 
various  kind  of  monkeys,  turtles,  pro- 
bably also  buffaloes  and  crocodiles,  and 
possibly  even  elephants  and  horses,  and 
that  it  was  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  sea.  He  is  most  inclined  to  look 
for  the  district  of  their  origin  in  the 
countries  which  are  now  called  Cam- 
bodia, Annam,  and  Siam.  The  Ma- 
layan starting-point  for  the  Polynesian 
migration  has  been  connected  with  the 
word  bolotu,  used  by  Polynesians  for 
the  next  world,  the  abode  of  the  gods  ; 

in  which  a  reminiscence  of  Buru  has  been  imagined.  In  spite  of  various  indi- 
cations in  that  direction,  we  can  hardly  reconcile  ourselves  to  the  notion  that  a 
single  insignificant  island  of  the  great  Archipelago  can  have  given  rise  to  the 
widely-scattered  peoples  of  the  Central  Pacific — all  the  less  when  we  find  Malayo- 
Polynesian  affinities  extending  to  the  Melanesian  Islands  and  Madagascar.  The 
continental  origin  of  the  Malayo-Polynesians  is  of  special  import  for  the  right 
understanding  of  them,  since  it  reveals  to  us  the  possibility  of  their  wider  exten- 
sion in  former  times  in  the  western  coast  districts  of  the  Pacific.  Their  presence 
in  Formosa,  the  traces  of  them  in  Japan,  lead  in  that  direction  to  a  point 
where  the  chain  of  relations  with  North-west  America  becomes  more  clearly 
visible.      The   question   whether  these    races  had  once  a  wide    extension    on   the 


Dyak  woman  of  Borneo.      (From  a  photograph  in  the 
Damann  Album. ) 


154  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


continent  may  here  be  passed  over.  Between  Japan,  where  north-west  American 
influences  are  recognisable,  and  Formosa,  to  which  the  Malayo-Polynesians 
extend  at  the  present  day,  so  narrow  a  gap  is  left  that  transference  is  almost 
certain.  But  a  more  important  fact  is  that  with  so  much  larger  an  extension 
either  on  the  coast  or  on  islands  towards  the  north,  the  possibility  of  direct 
connection  by  means  of  migration,  voluntary  and  involuntary,  is  increased. 
The  coast  northward  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  with  its  numerous 
islands,  more  especially  the  part  between  Puget  Sound  and  Cape  Spencer,  the 
Beehive  as  Dall  calls  it,  where  continuous  swarms  of  men  are  reared  and  sent  forth, 
is  some  four  thousand  miles  in  a  straight  h'ne  from  the  Japanese  archipelago.  On 
this  side  also,  and  from  hence  northward  to  the  Behring  Straits,  there  stretches  a 
region  where  the  art  of  navigation  is  highly  developed.  The  points  of  agreement 
with  America  of  which  we  get  glimpses  even  under  the  peculiar  and  high 
civilization  of  Japan  grow  thicker  as  we  go  north,  until  on  the  Behring  Sea  we 
arrive  at  identity  between  the  races  dwelling  on  the  Asiatic  and  American  shores. 
That  very  more  recent  extension  of  Asiatic  characteristics  over  North  America, 
from  which  it  results  that  South  American  races  show  in  details  points  of 
conformity  with  those  of  the  south-west  Pacific,  while  the  North  American  are 
more  clearly  traceable  to  the  north-west  Pacific,  testifies  to  the  advantages  of  the 
northern  road. 

The  Pacific  islands  are  in  the  tropical  zone  separated  from  the  American  shore 
by  a  space  of  forty  to  sixty  degrees  of  longitude  in  which  there  are  neither  islands 
nor  inhabitants.  The  single  group  of  any  size,  namely  the  Galapagos,  which  can 
be  reached  in  three  days  from  the  South  American  coast,  seems  never  to  have  been 
seen  by  any  man  before  the  first  visit  of  Europeans.  If  we  consider  that  this 
empty  space  is  only  one-third  as  broad  as  that  between  Easter  Island  and  the 
most  easterly  islands  of  the  Malay  Archipelago,  and  that  the  Easter  Islanders, 
in  order  to  reach  their  island  from  the  Samoa  group — generally  considered  the 
common  centre  of  dispersion  for  the  Polynesians, — had  to  traverse  a  much  longer 
road  than  that  space  would  involve,  the  gap  will  appear  to  us  of  much  less 
importance.  In  proportion  to  the  inhabited  part  of  the  Pacific  with  its  many 
islands,  this  rift  is  not  wide  enough  to  prevent  us  from  regarding  the  Pacific  like 
the  Indian  Ocean,  and  in  contrast  to  the  Atlantic,  as  an  inhabited  sea.  We  have 
no  historical  record  of  voyages,  voluntary  or  involuntary,  in  the  region  east  from 
Eastsr  Island.  Peruvian  annals  mention  coasting  voyages  and  more  distant  naval 
expeditions  for  conquest  or  discovery.  Pizarro  met  with  trading  ships,  and  the 
Chinchas  as  well  as  the  Chimus  had  traditions  of  a  distant  home  across  the  sea. 
But  there  is  no  historical  indication  of  any  immediate  traffic  between  Polynesia 
and  South  America.  It  is  far  more  probable  that  the  agreements  and  resemblances 
are  all  contained  within  the  four  corners  of  a  common  inclusion  of  both  parts  in  the 
great  Pacific  group  of  races.  The  Chinese  imagination  again  of  a  great  land  in  the 
east  can  only  be  interpreted  as  meaning  North-west  America,  and  the  gold-bearing 
islands  which  the  Japanese  placed  in  the  east — Tasman  was  sent  to  discover  them 
and  found  the  Bonin  Islands, — belonged  to  legend.  As  to  the  derivation  of  the 
old  American  civilizations  from  Asia,  we  shall  have  to  speak  of  it  in  the  American 
division  of  our  work. 


Printed  Try-  fhi?  Bibliograjhisches  Institut.  Leipzig 

POLYNESIAN   WEAPONS   AND   COSTUME. 


POLYIfESIAN  WEAPONS  AND  COSTUME. 
t.  Lance :  Viti. 

2.  Feather-scepttB :  Sandwich  Islands. 

3.  "  Partisan,  "with  shark's  teeth :  Kings- 
mill  Island. 


S.  Sacred  staff :  Cook  Islands. 
9.  Feather  head-ring :  Sandwich  Is- 
lands. 

10.  Ornamental  gorget :  Tahiti. 

11.  Idol:  Tahiti. 

12.  Dance    Club  :     Vanikoro,    Santa 
Cruz. 

All  one-tenth  of  natural  size.     Nos>  i,  x,  4,  9  12,  13,  i8,  from  the  Ethnographical  Museum,  Berlin.    The  rest  from  British 

Museum  and  Christy  collection. 


4.  Fan  :  Sandwich  Islands. 

5.  Dancing-cap:  Cook  or  Society  Islands, 
6,  7.  Feather  helmets  :  Hawaii. 


13.  Tapa-c\otii :  Tonga. 

14.  Feather  cloak  :  Hawaii. 
■5)  161  17.  Feather  masks  :  Hawaii. 

18.  Waier-bottle:  Fiji. 

19.  Spear  with  shark's  teeth :  Kings- 
mill  Islands. 

Club. 


THE  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND   THEIR  MIGRATIONS  155 


§  2.  THE  RACES  OF  THE   PACIFIC  AND  THEIR  MIGRATIONS 

The  island  groups,  their  climate  and  their  cultivated  plants — Number  of  the  population,  its  decrease  and 
shifting — Traces  of  denser  population  and  of  civilization — Ruins — Migrations — Involuntary  migrations  in 
the  Pacific — Navigation  and  shipbuilding — Orientation — Trading  journeys — Famine,  war,  and  other 
grounds  of  emigration  and  immigration — Legends  of  migrations — Migrations  in  mythology — Community 
of  speech  and  agreement  of  customs  in  Polynesia — Legend  of  Hawaiki — Polynesians  in  Melanesia  and 
Micronesia — Uninhabited  islands — Date  of  the  migrations — Ethnographical  groups  in  the  Pacific — Genea- 
logy of  the  Australians. 

Throughout  the  western  and  central  part  of  the  Pacific  are  many  thousands  of 
islands  scattered  about  in  numerous  groups.  On  the  west  they  are  connected  by 
larger  islands  with  Australia  and  the  Malayan  Archipelago.  There  is  first  of  all 
New  Guinea  with  the  inner  chain  of  the  Melanesian  islands  ending  on  the  east 
with  the  Fiji  group  ;  the  New  Zealand  group  lies  isolated  to  the  south-east.  East- 
ward beyond  Fiji  and  northward  beyond  New  Ireland  lie  countless  smaller  islands 
forming  Polynesia.  They  stretch  away  from  the  Carolines  to  Easter  Island, 
which  is  separated  by  a  space  of  nearly  2500  miles  from  the  South  American 
coast,  and  they  stretch  from  the  South  Island  of  New  Zealand  to  Hawaii.  Within 
the  angle  formed  by  a  line  running  through  the  Mariannes  towards  Japan  and 
another  running  through  the  Pelew  Islands  towards  the  Philippines,  there  lies  a 
second  group  of  still  smaller  islands  called  Micronesia.  The  separation  between 
the  three  groups  does  not  penetrate  far  ;  smaller  groups  within  them  may  much 
more  naturally  be  excluded.  Individual  countries,  larger  and  smaller,  have  plenty 
of  common  peculiarities  both  in  natural  character  and  in  the  mode  of  their  origin. 
Long  ago  a  natural  division  into  high  and  low  islands  was  recognised,  the  latter 
including  the  coralline,  the  former  the  volcanic  islands.  This  simple  classifica- 
tion does  not  indeed  wholly  correspond  with  the  domain  of  phenomena,  surface 
phenomena,  volcanic  phenomena,  and  violent  earthquakes  occurring  over  the  whole 
length  and  breadth  of  the  region  ;  while  the  coral  formation  has  been  developed 
to  an  extent  such  as  is  nowhere  else  found  in  that  tropical  belt  of  the  Pacific  which 
is  richest  in  islands.  Only  certain  islands,  the  chief  of  them  being  New  Guinea 
and  the  two  larger  islands  of  New  Zealand,  afford  space  'for  development  on  a 
large  scale,  and  sufficient  to  permit,  more  especially  in  Melanesia  with  its  larger 
islands,  the  growth  of  differences  between  up-country  and  coast  tribes.  New 
Guinea  does  not  indeed  hold  a  position  in  Melanesia  proportionate  to  its  size,  being 
more  sparsely  inhabited  than  most  of  the  islands  lying  in  front  of  it,  an  evidence 
for  the  indolence  and  unproductiveness  of  true  Papuan  labour  and  its  development. 
On  the  other  side  the  distance  of  New  Zealand  from  Polynesia  prevented  it  from 
exercising  those  more  penetrating  effects  which  might  have  been  expected  to 
emanate  from  the  largest  among  the  islands.  Thus  we  have  before  us,  almost 
universally,  only  the  population  of  small  and  numerous  areas,  very  unevenly 
endowed,  and  widely  separated  from  each  other.  Of  all  people  the  ethnographer 
must  bear  that  well  in  mind.  Further,  the  denser  population  is  confined  to  the 
coast  spaces,  while  the  interior  is  thinly  inhabited.  Rapid  changes  from  habitation 
to  non-habitation  are  frequent  under  these  conditions  ;  nor  is  the  list  of  islands 
now  uninhabited,  but  showing  traces  of  former  habitation,  a  short  one.      The 


iS6 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


majority  of  the  Pacific  islands  lie  in  a  region  where  the  prevailing  currents  and 
winds  move  in  a  westerly  direction,  north  and  south  of  the  equator,  between  the 
annual  isothermals  of  68°.  It  has  often  been  pointed  out  how  the  prevailing  east 
to  west  direction  of  the  trade-winds  would  facilitate  immigration  from  the  New 


Bread-fruit  tree  [Artocarpus  incisus)  :   (a)  inflorescence,  (b)  fruit. 

World.  In  small  districts  the  influence  of  the  winds  and  currents  is  no  doubt 
great ;  but  the  facts  of  migrations  and  castings-away  show  that,  thougfl  it  may 
often  determine  the  lines  of  distribution  of  mankind,  it  does  not  always  do  so. 
In  more  recent  times,  meteorology  has  no  less  shown  us  the  existence  of  westerly 
currents  of  air,  than  a  study  of  the  ocean  has  taught  us  that  there  is  an  equatorial 
counter-current  in  the  same  direction.  In  their  regular  traffic  the  Polynesians 
wait  for  a  west  wind  to  sail  eastwards,  and  they  have  a  corresponding  tradition 
that  their  domestic  animals  were  brought  from  the  west.     By  the  time  we  reach 


THE  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS 


157 


the   Hervey  or  Cook's,  and  Tubuai  or  Austral  groups,  the  west  winds,  which  in 
the  southern  hemisphere  prevail  south  of  20°,  begin  to  make  themselves  felt. 

The  flora  and  fauna  of  this  region,  the  pronounced  Asiatic  character  of  which 
Chamisso  was  the  first  to  refer  to  the  eastward  migration  of  the  Oceanians,  have 
little  to  offer  for  human  use.  Some  of  the  most  important  cultivated  plants 
and  domesticated  animals  have  been  imported ;  such  as  pigs,  dogs,  poultry, 
faro,  and  perhaps  bananas  too.  But  the  tree  which  is  most  closely  connected 
with  the  island  world,  and  which  does  most  to  give  a  character  to  its  landscape, 
the  coco-nut,  renders  existence 
possible  even  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  remote  and  low -lying 
islands.  While  green,  the  nut 
contains  a  liquid  which  is  cool- 
ing when  fresh  and  intoxicating 
when  fermented.  The  olea- 
ginous kernel,  when  older,  is 
nutritious  and  gives  oil  in 
abundance.  The  shell  of  the 
nut  provides  vessels ;  the 
fibres  of  its  outer  side  furnish 
a  durable  fabric ;  the  leaves 
are  used  for  thatching  houses, 
plaiting  mats,  sails,  or  baskets  ; 
the  stem  serves  for  building 
huts  and  boats.  Lastly,  the 
coco-nuts  with  their  spreading 
roots  contribute  to  hold  the 
coral  islands  together  and  to 
extend  their  area  ;  being,  as 
they  are,  among  their  earliest 
and  most  frequent  inhabitants 
of  the  islands.  Next  to  the 
coco-palm  the  bread-fruit  tree 
is  the  most  profitable  of  all  things  grown  and  cultivated  in  Polynesia.  Cook's 
saying,  that  six  bread-fruit  trees  would  keep  a  family,  is  well  known.  In  the 
third  place  comes  the  chief  article  of  real  agriculture,  the  taro  plant.  It  and 
the  bread-fruit  together  have  made  life  almost  too  easy  in  those  parts.  The 
sago-palm  extends  from  the  west  as  far  as  Melanesia  ;  a  great  part  of  the  popu- 
lation of  New  Guinea  is  dependent  on  it. 

Thus,  in  spite  of  their  wide  distribution,  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
central  Pacific  have  the  more  important  conditions  of  life  in  common.  If  to  this 
we  add  the  common  possession  of  a  mass  of  ethnographic  characteristics  we  shall  see 
that,  in  spite  of  significant  racial  differences,  Polynesia,  Micronesia,  and  Melanesia 
form  a  single  ethnographical  domain.  Islands  of  their  nature  make  their 
inhabitants  seamen  and  wanderers.  Accordingly  we  have  here  a  region  of 
extensive  colonisation,  and  we  find  settlements  from  one  group  of  races  in  the 
district  of  another ;  though,  by  a  curious  contrast,  in  countries  like  New  Guinea 
or  New  Zealand,  where  there  is  such  ample  room  for  extension  in  the  interior,  the 


^^'S-'^^^^^J^'^'jB^ 


Taro  [Caladium  esciilenUini) — one-half  natural  size. 


THE   HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


people  stick,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  to  the  coast.  Implements  and  customs 
connected  with  seafaring  and  fishing  show  a  general  agreement.  They  must  all  do 
without  iron,  and  consequently  have  much  skill  in  the  working  of  stone,  wood,  and 
shells.  In  weaving,  they  have  attained  a  high  level  ;  the  loom  has  spread  from 
the  west,  while  in  the  east  and  south  they  manufacture  bark  and  bast.  The 
few  domestic  animals,  the  usual  fruits  of  the  field,  and  the  intoxicating  kava  or  ava, 
are  found  throughout  all  three  districts.  In  the  social  life  the  preponderance  of 
the  tribe  or  commune  over  the  family  is  more  pronounced  than  perhaps  anywhere 
else  ;  while  in  the  realm  of  religious  conceptions  there  has  arisen,  out  of  a  large 
number  of  ideas  common  to  all  Polynesia,  one  of  the  most  complete  mythological 
systems  owned  by  any  primitive  race,  which,  with  its  luxuriance  of  legend,  has. 
overspread  this  vast  area,  and  parts  yet  more  remote. 

The  present  population  of  the  Pacific  in  the  space  between  the  western 
promontory  of  New  Guinea  and  Easter  Island,  and  between  the  Hawaiian 
Archipelago  and  New  Zealand,  is  reckoned  at  not  more  than  a  million  and  a  half, 
not  including  whites.  Yet  even  to-day  on  some  of  the  Polynesian  islands  we  find 
such  a  density  as  borders  on  over-population.  The  Kingsmill,  or  Gilbert,  group 
counts  35,000  in  less  than  200  square  miles,  the  Marshall  Islands  12,000  in  170. 
But  these  are  all  cases  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  small  islands  have  the  run 
of  the  coco  plantations  and  fishing-grounds  belonging  to  an  entire  archipelago. 
Tonga  too — for  one  of  the  less  bountifully  endowed  groups, — the  Solomon  Islands, 
the  Bismarck  Archipelago,  show  a  population  that  is  relatively  not  at  all  thin. 
Generally  the  smaller  areas  of  land  tend  to  a  closer  packing  of  the  population. 
But  the  great  majority  of  the  Pacific  islands  hold  far  fewer  persons  to-day  belong- 
ing to  the  original  native  races  than  they  did  before  the  arrival  of  European 
influences.  We  must  look  not  only  at  the  figures,  but  at  the  geographical  aspect. 
The  South  Island  of  New  Zealand  and  the  Chatham  Islands  have  no  longer  any 
but  a  small  and  vanishing  aboriginal  population,  and  these  crowded  back  into  the 
furthest  corner  ;  while  all  the  natural  advantages  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
more  numerous  and  more  active  white  inhabitants.  The  number  of  the  Maoris 
between  1835  and  1840  was  reckoned  with  good  reason  at  100,000;  to-day 
there  are  42,000,  including  numerous  half-breeds,  who  will  soon  be  the  sole 
survivors.  So  it  is  with  Hawaii,  and  so  even  with  the  small  islands.  If  we 
inquire  the  causes  of  this  phenomenon,  which  has  already  given  occasion  for  great 
dislocations  in  the  regions  of  races  and  peoples,  we  find  them  everywhere  the 
same.  After  the  remarks  made  in  the  Introduction  (pp.  1 1,  12),  we  can  sum  up 
the  causes  in  the  words  used  by  Pennefather  in  1888  as  applied  to  the  case  of 
the  Maoris  :  drunkenness  ;  diseases  ;  clothing  in  bad  European  materials  instead 
of  in  their  own  close-woven  mats  ;  a  state  of  peace,  which  has  allowed  them  to  fall 
into  indolence,  and  to  exchange  healthy  dwellings  on  fortified  hills  for  damp  sites  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  their  potato-fields  ;  ^  prosperity,  which  has  introduced  leisure 
and  pernicious  modes  of  enjoying  it.  Progress  on  the  lines  of  European  custom 
is  opposed  by  their  hereditary  usages,  especially  their  political  subdivision  and  the 
absence  of  private  property  in  land.  But  the  cannibalism  of  the  Maoris  has 
played  a  special  part  in  the  destruction  of  the  Maoraris  of  the  Chatham  Islands. 

The  importation  of  European  diseases  has  in  many  districts  accelerated  the 

'  [Yet,  says  the  late  Mr.  Stevenson,  the  Marquesans  are  dying  out  in  the  same  houses  where  their  fathers 
multiplied.] 


THE  RACES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS  159 

rate  of  decrease.  Kubary's  inquiry  into  the  astonishing  disappearance  of  the 
Pelew  Islanders,  the  most  complete  and  comprehensive  inquiry  that  we  have  for  any 
portion  of  Oceania,  reveals  a  whole  string  of  internal  causes.  Important  pheno- 
mena in  the  social  life  of  the  island  races,  such  as  adoption  in  its  various  forms, 
the  descent  of  titles  to  sons,  the  ruined  state  of  large  houses,  point  to  a  long 
previous  period  of  this  lamentable  decrease.  The  natives  wrongly  ascribe  it  to 
the  climatic  disorder,  influenza  ;  but  the  main  cause  must  be  sought  in  their 
dissolute  way  of  life,  particularly  in  the  case  of  the  women.  The  deficiency  of 
births  is  so  great  that  total  extinction  is  anticipated  in  the  near  future.  Early 
licentiousness  in  both  sexes  ;  special  features  in  married  life  of  a  kind  to  deter 
the  younger  women,  so  far  as  possible,  from  entering  into  bonds,  and  to  inflict 
upon  the  others  the  heavy  labour  of  ta7'o  cultivation,  keeping  couples  apart  and 
placing  considerations  of  utility  before  everything ;  lastly,  the  practice  of  head- 
hunting, which  is  not  yet  obsolete.  Kubary  stated  in  1883  that  in  the  last  ten 
years  only  thirty-four  heads  had  been  cut  off;  these  causes  offer  a  sufficient  ex- 
planation. In  the  light  of  the  description  given  by  the  writer  just  quoted,  the 
entire  population  would  seem  to  be  in  a  morbid  state,  what  with  a  tendency  to 
dysentery,  induced  by  living  exclusively  on  taro,  the  prevalence  of  intestinal 
parasites,  the  liability  of  all  the  older  people  to  chronic  rheumatism  as  a  result 
of  the  climate  and  the  exposure  of  the  naked  body,  and  the  lack  of  endurance 
of  the  man  under  circumstances  of  bodily  exertion. 

This  decrease  is  in  close  connection  with  a  decadence  from  levels  of  develop- 
ment formerly  attained  in  political  and  social  matters,  and  even  in  arts  and 
crafts.  In  Micronesia  they  have  ceased  to  build  the  large  club  or  assembly 
houses  of  former  days  ;  and  therewith  a  source  of  endless  encouragement  to  fancy 
and  skill  has  been  dried  up.  The  people  make  fewer  things  than  they  used  to 
do — their  originality  has  died  out ;  they  are  in  a  way  to  become  poor  ethno- 
graphically.  A  glance  into  the  past  of  these  races  reveals  remains  of  bygone 
generations,  telling  of  another  state  of  things,  of  a  larger  population,  of  more 
considerable  results  from  labour,  of  more  enduring  works.  In  the  small  Louisiade 
group  there  is  a  network  of  roads  far  closer  than  is  wanted  by  the  present  popu- 
lation. On  Pitcairn's  Island,  now  deserted,  there  are  the  stone  foundations  of 
morais,  stone-axes,  and  in  the  caves  skeletons  lying  near  drawings  of  the  moon, 
stars,  birds,  and  so  on  ;  ancient  fortifications  crown  the  hills  of  Rapa,  while  in 
Huahine  in  the  Windward  Islands  a  dolmen,  built  on  to  a  morai  in  terraces,  is 
found  beside  a  road  of  cyclopean  stones.  The  ruins  of  Nanmatal  in  Ponap^ 
consist  of  square  chambers,  fenced  with  pillars  of  basalt  and  separated  from  each 
other  by  channels.  There  are  eighty  of  these  stone  islets  ;  some  of  them  having 
undoubtedly  once  served  as  sepulchral  monuments.  Among  these  ruins  the  tomb 
of  the  kings  of  Matalanim  rises,  on  a  base  6  feet  high  and  290  feet  long  by  230 
broad,  to  a  height  of  about  30  feet,  with  walls  10  feet  thick,  formed  of  basalt 
columns. 

The  most  classical  instances  of  this  wealth  of  relics  left  by  a  more  numerous 
and  more  active  generation  are  preserved  in  Easter  Island.  There  the  gigantic 
stone  images  are  something  wonderful.  Their  great  number  is  no  less  astonishing 
than  their  size  and  the  comparative  high  level  of  their  workmanship.  Even  now  they 
are  reckoned  at  several  hundreds  ;  their  height  is  nearly  50  feet,  while  in  one  case 
the  breadth  across  the  shoulders  is  not  less  than  i  o  feet.      Many  of  them  have 


i6o 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


been  thrown  down  and  half-buried  in  rubbish  ;  but  others  stand  on  broad  plat- 
forms built  of  hewn  stone.  Originally  many  are  said  to  have  had  head-covermgs 
of  reddish  stone  ;  cylinders,  according  to  Cook's  description,  of  5  feet  diameter. 
Some  have  hieroglyphics  carved  on  their  backs.  These  images,^  weighing  many 
tons,  must  at  one  time  have  been  lowered  down  the  mountain  with  hawsers,  and 
prepared,  that  is,  engraved,  in  pits  below.  Naturally  these  images,  whose  number, 
size,  and  clever  workmanship  contrast  so  strangely  with  the  smallness  of  the 
island,  and  the  state  of  extreme  simplicity  in  which  the  first  Europeans  found 
the  islanders,  have  given  rise   to   many  speculations  as  to  their  origin.      Even  so 


Sepulchral  monument  in  Ponap^,  Caroline  Islands.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album.) 


sober  a  judge  as  Beechey  declares  it  to  be  simply  impossible  that  the  Easter 
Islanders  can  have  executed  these  works  ;  both  the  sculpturing  and  the  erection 
of  them,  he  thinks,  far  exceeded  any  capacity  of  theirs.  What  makes  it  yet 
more  difficult  to  answer  these  questions  is  the  ignorance  in  which  we  are  as  to 
their  age,  as  to  the  reason  why  so  many  have  been  thrown  down,  and,  lastly,  as 
to  their  object.  Earthquakes  of  course  may  have  thrown  them  down  ;  but  no 
observer,  old  or  recent,  has  been  able  to  divine  the  purpose  they  served.  The 
impression  of  decadence  which  one  receives  from  the  sight  of  such  mighty  works 
among  a  race  now  so  scanty,  feeble,  and  impoverished,  is  strengthened  when  we 
find  that  Easter  Island  shows  masonry  adapted  to  various  purposes  in  the  shape 
sometimes  of  staged  platforms,  sometimes  of  huts,  above  or  j  below  ground,  and 
with  or  without  interior  ornament  in  colour. 

Oceania,  as  being,  of  all  regions  which  men  inhabit,  the  richest  in  islands,  the 
poorest  in  land,  seems  at  the  first  glance  a  most  favourable  soil  on  which  to  study 
isolated  evolutions  of  civilization.  It  is,  however,  a  region  of  constant  intercourse, 
and  nowhere  offers  a  wide  or  fertile  soil  for  permanently  independent  evolution. 


THE  RACES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND   THEIR  MIGRATIONS  i6i 

It  furnishes  interesting  evidence  of  the  special  directions  in  which  individual 
elements  in  the  fund  of  civilization  possessed  by  a  "  natural "  race  can  develop, 
but  it  shows  us  no  persistency  of  a  single  racial  type  and  a  special  civilization. 
Instead  of  the  deep  gradations  which  divide  the  Fuegian,  a  kind  of  Bushman  or 
Hottentot,  from  the  Inca  of  Peru,  expert  in  many  arts,  rich;  devoted  to  sun- 
worship  ;  Oceania  displays,  in  the  domain  of  culture,  only  slight  variations  on 
the  same  ground-theme.  Its  great  problem  is  not  the  tranquil  development  of 
local  peculiarities,  but  the  equalising  effect  of  migration  from  one  archipelago  to 
another,  and  ultimately  from  quarter  to  quarter  of  the  earth. 

The  distribution  of  Malayo-Polynesian  races  over  an  area  covering  210  degrees 
of  longitude  and   80   of  latitude,  is  an  astounding  fact.      It  gains   in   signiiicance 


Outrigged  boat,  New  Britain.     (From  a  model  in  the  Godeffroy  collection,  Leipzig. ) 

when  we  renlember  that  wide  tracts  of  very  deep  ocean  divide  these  islands,  while 
the  islands  are  so  small  that  even  exploring  navigators  did  not  discover  them 
till  late,  and  then  with  difficulty.  No  cause  appeared  too  vast  to  explain  such  a 
phenomenon,  and  we  cannot  be  surprised  that  not  only  older  inquirers  like 
Quiros,  or  seafaring  men  like  Crozet  and  Dumont  d'Urville,  but  even  a  man  like 
Broca  ^  could  admit  the  idea  that  in  this  island-world  we  have  the  remains  of  a 
submerged  continent.  Even  the  hypothesis  of  a  separate  creation  of  races  so 
isolated  has  been  brought  into  play  here.  But  migrations  of  the  islanders  are 
mentioned  even  by  Forster  and  Cook  ;  and  have  been  more  and  more  recognised 
as  the  great  fact  in  the  ethnography  of  the  Pacific.  Numerous  indeed  are  the 
records  of  accidental  involuntary  migrations.  When  Cook  came  to  Watiu  in 
1777,  his  Tahitian  companion  Mai  found  there  three  fellow-countrymen,  all  that 
were  left  of  twenty,  from  Tahiti,  750  miles  distant,  who  had  been  cast  away  twelve 
years  before.  In  1825  Beechey  found  on  Byam  Martin  Island  forty  men,  women, 
and  children,  the  survivors  of  150  from  Matia,  who  some  years  before  had  been 
caught  in  an  unwontedly  early  monsoon,  and  driven  625  miles  to  Barrow  Island  ; 
subsequently   leaving   this   on   account   of  its  barrenness,   and    settling  on   Byam  ,^ 

^  [Not  to  mention  Darwin  and  Lyell.] 
M 


l62 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MAXKI^D 


Martin.  A  remarkable  point  in  this  is  that  the  course  from  Matia  to  Barrow 
Island  is  against  the  trades.  In  1816  Kotzebue  found  on  Aur,  one  of  the 
Radack  Islands,  a  native  of  Ulie,  who  had  been  cast  away  with  three  others 
while  fishing,  and  covered  a  distance  of  1850  miles  against  the  trades.  Inhabit- 
ants of  Ulie  were  carried  to  the  Marshall  Islands  also  in  1857;  Ralick  islanders 
to  the  Gilberts,  Gilbert  islanders  to  the  Marshalls,  and  westward  to  the  Carolines ; 
and  Finsch  reports  a  more  recent  case  of  castaways  from  Jaluit  or  Bonham 
Island  to  Faraulep  in  the  western  Carolines,  a  distance  of  1500  nautical  miles. 
During  his  short  stay  on  Yap,  and  then  in   Pelew,  Miklouho-Maclay  often  met 


Boat  of  the  Mortlock  Islands,  with  outrigger  and  sail  of  rush-matting.     (After  a  model  in  the 

Godeffroy  collection. ) 

people  who  had  been  cast  away  on  other  islands  and  had  returned.  ,  Kubary,  in 
his  account  of  the  Pelew  Islands,  mentions  as  a  well-known  fact  that  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  Carolines  are  often  driven  to  the  Philippine  Islands.  In  every  case 
they  make  the  island  of  Samar  or  the  most  southerly  point  of  Luzon,  just  where 
the  northern  equatorial  current  breaks  on  the  island  wall  of  the  Philippines.  On 
the  other  hand,  inhabitants  of  the  Philippines  seem  never  to  have  come  to  Pelew, 
though  plenty  come  from  Celebes  and  the  islands  in  the  Celebes  Straits. 

Another  region  where  people  are  often  cast  away  is  in  and  about  the  Fiji 
Archipelago,  its  boundaries  being  indicated  by  Tikopia,  Lifu,  Savaii  and  Vavao. 
Active  as  the  regular  intercourse  may  be  between  Tonga  and  Fiji,  the  presence 
of  numerous  Tongan  and  Fijian  half-breeds  exactly  on  the  windward  side  of  the 
Fiji  Archipelago  would  suggest  that  people  had  been  driven  westwards,  even  had 


THE  RACES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND   THEIR  MIGRATIONS 


163 


we  not  clear  evidence  that  they  have  been  driven  from  Tonga  and  Savaii  to  the 
still  more  westerly  islands  of  the  Banks  group,  to  the  New  Hebrides,  and  the 
Loyalty  Islands.  They  appear  even  to  have  got  to  the  central  Solomon 
Islands.  It  is  when  we  come  within  the  Melanesian  groups  that  these  movements 
gain  in  interest,  owing  to  the  large  number  of  Polynesians  to  be  found  there,  or 
the  traces,  often  so  clear,  of  Polynesian  influence. 


Boat  of  Niue,  Savage  Islands.     (After  a  model  in  the  Godeffroy  collection.) 

A  third  region  is  even  more  important  by  reason  of  its  local  connection  with 
the  Polynesian  legends  of  migrations.  It  embraces  the  Hervey  or  Cook  Islands, 
the  Tubuai  or  Austral   Islands,  the  Paumotu  or  Low  Islands,  and  the  Society 


Boat  of  the  Hermit  Islands.     (From  the  same). 

Islands.  To  supplement  the  instances  already  given  we  may  mention  the 
involuntary  journey  of  Williams  in  a  boat  from  Rarotonga  to  Tongatabu,  and 
that  of  several  natives  from  Aitutaki  to  Niue  ;  in  both,  cases  distances  of  a  thousand 
miles  were  traversed  in  a  westerly  direction.  Those  natives  of  Manihiki  who  were 
driven  by  a  storm  to  the  Ellice  group  in  1861,  and  there  spread  the  first 
Christian  teaching,  accomplished  a  still  longer  course.  Between  the  Society 
Islands,  especially  Tahiti,  and  the  Paumotu  group,  a  particularly  close  connection 
has  been  established  by  frequent  castings-away  both  with  and  against  the  trades. 
Cases  have  been  known  here  also  in  which  persons  have  been  driven  southward. 


1 54 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


but  never  beyond  the  tropic,  so  that  no  connection  has  been  formed  with  New 
Zealand.  Finally,  we  have  evidence  in  involuntary  journeys  made  from  Tahiti  to 
Byam  Martin  and  Bow  Islands  that,  especially  during  the  summer,  it  is  possible  for 
vessels  to  be  driven  against  trade  winds  and  currents  in  an  easterly  direction, 
that  is  to  say  in  the  direction  in  which  the  Easter  Islanders  must  have  reached  their 
remote  land. 

Reports  about  castaways  in  this  direction  from  the  continent  of  Asia  or  from 


Wooden  baler,  New  Zealand — one-sixth  real  size.     (British  Museum.) 

Japan  are  more  rare.  Apart  from  some  established  historical  cases  we  may  here 
refer  to  the  repeated  instances  of  persons  being  driven  from  Japan  northward  and 
eastward     to    Lopatka,    Kadjak,    and     Vancouver    Islands,    which    are    equally 

confirmed   by  history.       Even 
'  „  ~  '  '    "  from   China  ships  are  said  to 

have  been  cast  away  on  the 
north-west  coast  of  America. 
Evidence  of  journeys  in  the 
opposite  direction  is  afforded 
by  articles  of  undoubted  north- 
west American  origin  which 
come  ashore  on  the  coasts  of 
the  Hawaiian  Islands.  With 
the  South  American  continent 
there  are  no  manifest  relations, 
although  in  higher  latitudes 
westerly  winds  and  currents 
lead  towards  South  America, 
while  in  equatorial  regions 
they  are  easterly  and  lead 
away  irom  it.  The  only  conclusions  that  are  possible  here,  and  will  be  later 
investigated,  are  based  upon  the  data  of  ethnography. 

Even  if  we  regard  only  the  involuntary  journeys,  the  Pacific  Ocean  appears  no 
longer  as  a  watery  desert  where  islanders  live  in  seclusion  ;  but  mutual  relations 
of  the  most  varied  kind,  both  between  the  islands,  and  between  them  and  the 
continents,  become  manifest.  Castings-away  are  no  exception  but  the  rule  and 
take  people  in  every  direction.  Ethnography  has  to  take  account  of  these  casual 
relations  which  in  the  long  vista  of  years  have  stretched  a  dense  network  from 


^/-7 


Wooden  baler,  New  Zealand — one-fifth  real  size.      (British  Museum.) 


from 


THE  RACES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS 


i6s 


Wooden  baler,  New  Guinea — one-fifth  real  size. 
(British  Museum.) 


one  land  to  another.  She  must  give  up  the  idea  of  any  sharp  separation 
between  the  races  of  Oceania,  and  allowing  all  consideration  to  disunion  and 
peculiarity,  must  give  its  due  to  every  cause  which  makes  for  union. 

But  this  view  is  met  also  by  the  life  and  ways  of  the  Oceanians,  their  mode 
of  thought,  and  their  tradition.  There  is  in  them  a  pronounced  migratory  sense. 
Journeys  of  many  hundreds  of  miles  are  not  seldom  undertaken  by  them,  either 
for  the  purpose  of  falling  upon  the  inhabitants  of  neighbouring  islands  and  getting 
heads  for  their  canoe  houses,  or  in  order  to  meet  on  some  appointed  day  of  the 
year  for  a  general  exchange  of  goods.  The  inhabitants  of  Yap,  and  Simbo,  and 
the  Tongans  are  specially  renowned  for 
voyages  of  this  kind.  The  piratical 
inhabitants  of  Biak  also  traverse  hun- 
dreds of  miles  in  their  canoes.  Trade  is 
naturally  a  chief  cause  of  roaming.  The 
fact  that  in  the  Polynesian  islands  it  is 
mainly  carried  on  by  the  chiefs  or  on 
their  account  can  only  be  favourable  to 
the  enterprises,  since  none  but  they  have 
either  authority  or  knowledge  to  lead  the  greater  expeditions.  The  Tongans, 
who  monopolised  the  trade  between  Fiji  and  Samoa,  with  the  inhabitants  of 
Sikiyana,  of  Peleliu,  and  some  others,  are  noted  as  genuine  trading  races.  Division 
of  labour  in  trades  leads  of  necessity  to  exchange.      It  is  specially  to  be  observed 

that  the  higher  development  of  any 
industry,  as  of  pottery  in  Bilibili,  Teste, 
or  Moresby,  all  of  them  islands  off 
New  Guinea,  is  always  found  to  im- 
prove all  the  appliances  of  travel  and 
transport,  and  thus  especially  to  raise 
navigation  to  a  higher  level.  Political 
disturbances  again  have  created  numer- 
ous motives  for  migration.  Attacks 
of  one  island  upon  another,  flight  to 
remote  islands,  are  common  occur- 
rences. At  the  time  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  the  inhabitants  of  the  Marianne  Islands  took  refuge  in  the  Carolines. 
Tongans  fleeing  from  a  cannibal  chief  peopled  the  island  of  Pylstart  or  Ata ; 
Kaumualii,  when  threatened  by  attack  from  Kamehameha,  had  a  ship  made 
ready  in  Kauai,  in  order  that  he  might  fly  with  his  family  in  time  of  danger  to 
one  of  the  ocean  islands.  Lastly,  too,  hunger  was  a  spur  to  migration,  famines 
being  frequent.  Constant  contact  with  the  sea  has  given  birth  to  a  spirit  of 
adventure  for  which  the  aristocratic  constitution  of  society  provides  nourishment 
and  tools.  The  Tongans  may  well  reckon  as  the  Phoenicians  of  South  Poly- 
nesia ;  Samoans  and  P"ijians  never  ventured  upon  the  journey  to  Tonga  except 
in  boats  manned  by  Tongan  seamen.  Nor,  moreover,  are  real  wandering  tribes 
lacking.  Lastly,  we  must  not  forget  the  low  value  placed  upon  human  life 
in  all  island  countries  with  a  tendency  to  over-population.  Infanticide,  human 
sacrifices,  cannibalism,  a  permanent  state  of  war,  are  sufficient  explanations  of  this, 
and  from  the  same  root  springs  also  the  love  of  emigration. 


Stick  chart  from  the  Marshall  Islands. 
Collection). 


(Godeffroy 


1 66  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Among  no  "  natural "  races  has  the  science  of  seafaring  reached  so  high  an 
average  development  as  among  the  Polynesians  and  Melanesians.  Most  of  the 
tribes  are  genuine  seamen.  If  we  regard  their  remoteness  from  the  great  civilized 
races  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  the  shipbuilding  art  stands  as  high  among  them  as 
among  the  Malays  ;  and  we  must  further  reflect  that  they  were  without  iron. 
Naturally  here  also  local  limitations  produce  inequalities  in  shipbuilding,  as  well 
as  in  the  extent  of  the  voyages,  and  also  in  the  migrations  of  the  different  races. 
It  is  a  fact  that  at  the  present  day  the  Fijians  seldom  go  beyond  the  bouijdaries 
of  their  own  group,  while  the  Tongans,  favoured  by  the  wind,  often  come  to  them. 
But  the  art  of  navigation,  no  less  than  that  of  shipbuilding,  may  undergo 
alterations  in  the  course  of  time.  Fortunate  voyages  raise  the  spirit  of 
enterprise,  bad  luck  depresses  it.  The  Samoa  group  got  its  former  name  of  the 
Navigator  Islands  from  the  seafaring  skill  of  its  inhabitants  ;  this  has  now  greatly 
decreased.  Many  of  the  low  islands  are  so  poorly  wooded  that  shipbuilding  is 
rendered  difficult,  and  dependent  on  drift  timber  ;  while  at  Port  Moresby  on  the 
New  Guinea  coast  the  Motus,  having  little  wood,  build  as  a  rule  no  vessels. 
They  do  not,  however  (like  the  Caribs  in  a  well-known  couplet),  content  them- 
selves with  "  wishing  they  could,"  but  draw  upon  their  more  expert  neighbours 
for  them.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  islanders  of  the  Paumotu  group,  where 
wood  is  also  scarce,  build  larger  and  better  vessels  than  the  Marquesans.  The 
small  area  and  poverty  of  their  islands  force  them  both  to  peaceable  migrations 
and  to  warlike  expeditions  of  conquest,  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  sea. 

Vessels  of  every  description,  from  the  simple  raft  and  the  sailing  vessel  with 
outrigger,  or  the  double  canoe,  are  found  in  this  region.  We  do  not  need  to 
notice  the  rafts  of  bamboo  made  by  the  Pelew  Islanders  for  the  navigation  of  an 
inland  lake,  since  opportunities  for  inland  navigation  are  not  usual  throughout 
the  region  ;  but  rafts  are  actually  in  use  for  coasting  purposes.  Among  the 
families  whom  Cook  found  in  Dusky  Bay  there  were  no  boats,  only  a  single  raft 
made  of  tree-stems  for  putting  people  across.  Next  we  come  to  boats  made  simply 
of  stems,  which,  being  fastened  together  and  planked  over,  become  raft-like  vessels. 
Such  boat-rafts  have  led  to  the  erroneous  idea  that  the  New  Caledonians,  for 
example,  sailed  the  seas  on  rafts.  As  a  matter  of  fact  these  people  have  only 
a  kind  of  rough  raft,  resting  on  two  hollowed  tree-stems,  and  carrying  a  mast 
with  a  triangular  mat-sail.  The  Kunai  people  have  double  canoes,  and  those  of 
very  pretty  work.  The  Loyalty  Islands'  canoes  are  inferior  to  these,  but  are 
also  double,  with  a  platform,  two  triangular  mat-sails,  and  oars  6  feet  long,  passing 
through  holes  in  the  platform.  A  long  oar  serves  for  steering,  and  so  they  sail 
to  New  Caledonia.  At  Hood  Bay  in  New  Guinea  rafts  are  used  resting  on  five 
trunks  ;  on  a  single  platform  these  carry  as  many  as  a  hundred  men  and  quantities 
of  goods.      They  carry  one  or  two  masts,  a  stone  anchor,  and  a  mat-sail. 

It  is  not  usual  for  single  trunks  to  be  used  exclusively  for  seafaring  ;  but  in 
coast  navigation  and  fishing  they  meet  local  requirements,  even  where  large 
regularly  built  vessels  exist.  We  find  them  in  Tahiti,  under  the  name  of  huhu 
or  shells,  usually  sharp  at  one  end  and  seldom  holding  more  than  two  men. 
But  such  is  the  development  of  boat-building,  that  the  smallest  boats  are,  where 
necessary,  built  with  great  care  in  several  pieces.  On  Waituhi  the  Paumotu 
Islanders  have  a  great  number  of  small  boats,  put  together  of  coco-palm  wood, 
1 6  feet  long  at  most,  capable  of  being  carried  by  two  persons  and  of  carrying  two 


THE  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS  167 

or  three ;  they  have  pointed  pieces  specially  fixed  on  fore  and  aft,  an  outrigger 
and  two  recurved  paddles. 

The  Tahitians  build  their  boats  of  several  pieces,  for  the  very  good  reason 
that  large  timber,  such  as  the  Maoris  obtain  from  the  Kauri  pine,  does  not  grow 
in  their  island.  In  the  Society  Islands,  elegant  double  canoes,  known  as  "  twins," 
are  made  by  patting  together  two  single  stems,  which  must  exactly  match. 
The  kabekel  of  the  Pelew  Islands  is  a  vessel  between  60  and  70  feet  long,  usually 
hewn  out  of  one  large  tree-stem,  and  pulling  as  many  as  forty  paddles.  Its  beam 
and  depth  are  very  small  for  its  great  length.  The  entire  Vessel  is  merely  a 
hollowed-out  keel,  supported  in  the  water  by  the  outrigger  attached  to  one  side. 
A  kind  of  deck  made  of  bamboo  is  arranged  amidships,  on  which  the  leader  takes 
his  place,  and  the  baggage  is  packed. 

These  single-tree  craft  afford  the  basis  also  for  the  larger  built  ships.  The 
keel  of  these  consists  of  a  stem  hollowed  out  by  means  of  fire,  or,  in  the  bigger 
vessels,  of  several.  Large  ships  are  found  chiefly  in  Fiji,  Tonga,  Samoa,  and 
New  Zealand  ;  and  the  number  of  boats  is  correspondingly  large.  In  Tahiti, 
Forster  saw  a  fleet  of  159  large  double  canoes  and  70  smaller  craft.  The  small 
Ones  in  many  cases  travel  very  fast,  and  serve  as  despatch-boats  to  the  larger. 

The  tree  or  trees  intended  for  a  ship  will  be  felled  to  the  recital  of  religious 
sentences,  and  then  hollowed  by  means  of  fire.  While  many  of  the  natives  are 
qualified  for  this  task,  the  actual  building  is  in  the  hands  of  a  privileged  class  ; 
so  closely  were  the  interests  of  state  and  society  once  bound  up  with  this  art 
and  mystery.  Even  to  the  present  day  in  Fiji  the  carpenters,  whose  chief  work 
is  shipbuilding,  form  a  special  caste.  They  bear  the  high-sounding  title  of  "  the 
king's  craftsmen  "  and  have  the  privileges  of  real  chiefs.  These  highly-honoured 
artisans  carry  on  their  trade  of  shipbuilding  with  particular  care.  Planks  are 
attached  to  the  keel,  stern  and  bow  provided  with  carved  ornaments,  sails  and 
ropes  are  all  finished  and  fitted  by  special  workmen,  and  the  outriggers  prepared 
by  others.  Everything  is  done  according  to  old  tradition  ;  the  laying  of  the  keel, 
the  finishing  of  the  whole,  the  launching,  all  take  place  with  religious  ceremonies 
and  festivities.  Tangaroa  was  the  patron  of  shipmen,  and  they  bore  his  worship 
all  over  the  Ocean.  Even  the  gods  themselves  like  to  build  ships,  and  undertake 
daring  voyages. 

The  Fijian  ships  long  held  the  first  place  among  the  craft  of  the  Pacific 
islands.  When  Cook  first  visited  Tonga  in  1772,  he  found  Fijians  there  who 
had  brought  a  Tongan  of  high  rank  to  his  own  island  in  their  ship.  The  Tongan 
vessels  at  that  time  were  clumsy  compared  with  those  of  Fiji,  and  for  that  reason 
they  accepted  this  with  its  sails  as  a  gift.  They  have  only  altered  the  Fijian 
model  to  the  extent  of  cleverly  improving  the  accuracy  and  fineness  with  which 
various  portions  are  executed.  These  Fijian  vessels  with  Tongan  improvements 
belong  to  a  type  spread  throughout  Micronesia,  in  which,  by  reversing  the  sail, 
bow  and  stern  are  convertible.  Thus  Fijian  chiefs  took  to  employing  by  prefer- 
ence carpenters  from  Tonga;  which  gave  rise  to  the  belief  that  the  Tongans 
built  their  vessels  in  Fiji  for  the  sake  of  the  better  wood.  The  New  Caledonian 
ships  are  like  the  Samoan,  but  less  well  built  and  slower.  The  vessels  of  the 
Loyalty  Islands  are  also  clumsy ;  a  fact  the  more  remarkable  since  both  these 
groups  contain  admirable  material  in  their  great  pines.  In  the  Solomon  Islands 
shipbuilding  has  attained  a  high  level,  but  here  too  there  are  gradations.     The 


1 68  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


most  elegant  and  the  lightest  craft  in  that  archipelago  are  built  in  Ulakua.  In 
the  more  westerly  islands  the  war-vessels  are  extraordinarily  rich  with  fantastic 
ornaments,  festoons  of  feathers  and  bast,  coloured  red  and  yellow,  shells,  and  so 
forth.  In  New  Ireland  the  boats  differ  materially  from  those  of  New  Hanover; 
they  are  equally  made  of  a  single  tree  stem,  but  are  not  so  long  and  not  curved 
in  the  gunwale.  The  boat  of  New  Britain  is  mostly  made  from  one  stem,  but 
has  often  a  low  strake  on  each  side.  It  is  on  the  average  larger  than  that  of  New 
Ireland,  and  has  a  high  narrow  beak  at  each  end. 

The  larger  boats  of  New  Guinea  are  from  i6  to  20  feet  long,  and  from 
2  to  2\  wide.  The  hull,  made  in  one  piece,  is  hollowed  out  from  a  trunk  which 
must  have  no  flaw.  It  is  not  more  than  half  an  inch  thick,  and  has  cross-ties  to 
keep  it  from  warping.  Both  ends  curve  upwards  and  are  strengthened  with 
wooden  posts,  of  which  that  in  the  stem  rises  high  and  is  adorned  with  arabesques 
or  painted.  To  raise  the  gunwale  above  the  water  line  they  employ  the  ribs  of 
sago-palm  leaves  after  the  fashion  of  the  Alfurs.  These  are  by  preference  inter' 
laced,  and  then  being  attached  like  tiles  to  the  cross-ties,  form  a  water-tight ''v^ 
surface.  Over  the  gunwale  are  fastened  two  light  cross-pieces,  which  project  about 
5  feet,  and  at  the  end  of  which  is  another  piece  of  wood,  bent  at  right  angles,  just 
touching  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  sticking  into  a  strong  boom,  which  is  as 
light  as  cork  and  serves  as  a  float.  Amidships  on  the  cross-tinibers  a  square 
cabin  of  bamboo  is  erected,  sheltered  against  injury  from  weather  by  a  small  roof  ■  ■ 
of  coco-palm  leaves.  All  other  kinds  of  craft,  from  the  raft  upward,  are  found  in 
New  Guinea.      The  ornamentation  is  rich,  especially  of  the  war-canoes. 

In  Micronesia,  where  the  vessels  stand  next  in  quality  to  those  of  Fiji  and 
Tonga,  we  do  not  find  the  double  canoes  common  among  the  Polynesians.  Even 
the  great  vta^r-amlais,  holding  sixty  to  eighty  persons,  have  only  an  outrigger. 
Differences  can  be  noticed  between  one  island  and  another.  The  Pelew  canoes 
differ  from  all  those  in  use  in  the  South  Seas  by  being  very  low  in  proportion  to 
their  length  and  sail-area.  For  this  reason  they  are  not  adapted  for  such  long 
voyages  as  the  inhabitants  of  Yap,  or  those  of  Mackenzie  and  the  Ralick  Islands, 
undertake,  but  for  short  journeys  they  are  extraordinarily  effective.  The  light 
and  sharp  kaep,  driven  by  a  large  three-cornered  sail,  slips  over  the  water  like 
lightning  in  the  most  gentle  breeze.  Heavy  seas  find  no  resistance  in  these 
canoes,  they  lift  them  and  divide  on  the  sharp  angle  of  their  stems,  and  do  not 
check  their  way.  The  Micronesian  fashion  of  adorning  boats  with  bundles  of  the 
split  feathers  of  the  frigate-bird,  and  avoiding  carved  work,  comes  from  Polynesia. 

An  important  element  of  the  Polynesian  or  Melanesian  vessel  is  the  outrigger. 
This  is  shaped  and  fitted  on  in  various  ways,  and  is  of  various  sizes.  Light 
durable  woods  are  used  for  this  purpose  ;  in  the  eastern  districts  mostly  Pisonia, 
which,  even  in  the  Paumotu  Group,  reaches  a  height  of  65  feet,  while  in  the  west  .;. 
it  is  generally  Hibiscus,  as  light  as  cork,  or  an  Erythrina.  As  a  rule  the  outrigger 
is  fastened  to  the  vessel  by  two  booms  5  to  6  feet  in  length,  the  forward  one 
straight  and  stiff,  the  after  one  bent  and  elastic.  Among  the  Fijians  many  kinds 
of  craft  are  distinguished  solely  according  to  their  outriggers. 

The    sail — there    is    never    more    than    one — is    three-cornered,   composed    of 
plaited  mats,  or  woven  from  the  bast  of  the  leaf-stem  of  the  coco-palm,  bent  on  a 
frame  of  bamboos,  and   attached   to  the   mast   by  a  rope  passing  over  or  around  j; 
the   mast-head.      It  cannot  be   reefed.      As   an   article   of  trade   it   is   in    demancl 


THE  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND   THEIR  MIGRATIONS 


169 


proportioned  to  its  importance.  In  large  vessels  the  steering  oar  is  20  feet 
long,  the  blade  over  6  feet,  requiring  two  or  three  men  to  handle  it  in  a  heavy  sea. 
The  ordinary  paddles  are  frequently  the  least  practical  part  of  t^ie  gear.  The 
blade  is  lancet-shaped,  often  decorated  at  the  pointed  end,  carved  about  the 
handle  with  figures  of  animals  or  other  ornaments.  Fancy  paddles  are  inlaid 
with  mother-of-pearl.  Where  they  are  as  strong  as  in  the  Solomon  Islands,  they 
can  be  used  on  occasion  for  clubs.  Even  the  balers,  with  their  often  elegantly 
carved  forms,  show  the  value  which  is  attached  to  the  humblest  nautical  imple- 
ments. The  balers  of  the  Admiralty  Islands,  with  their  single  horizontal  bar  for 
a  handle,  were  placed  by  Rear-Admiral  Strauch,  from  a  practical  point  of  view, 
above  those  made 
in  Europe.  Pre- 
serves, capable  of 
keeping  for  a  long 
time,  are  prepared 
for  voyages  from 
pandanpsAnd  bread- 
fruit ;  cocoa  -  nuts 
also  serve  as  pro- 
vision, and  their 
shells  can  be  filled 
with  water.  In  the 
large  war  boats  the 
number  of  rowers 
far  exceeds  1 00. 
Forster  speaks  of 
144  oarsmen,  Wil- 
son of  300  men  in 
a  single  boat.  The 
time  of  the  paddles 
is  given  by  singing. 
When  a  number  of 
boats  are  sailing  to- 
gether,    one      man 

stands  in  the  stern  of  the  leading  vessel  and  signals  the  course  with  a  bunch  of 
dry  grass. 

The  taking  of  proper  bearings  is  of  double  importance  in  this  ocean,  in  which 
the  individual  islands  are  often  so  far  apart  and  so  low-lying  that  one  is  astonished 
that  they  were  ever  found.  Many  islands  in  the  Pacific  were  discovered  for  the 
first  time  in  the  present  century.  The  islanders  are  keen  observers  of  the  stars, 
and  have  names  for  a  good  list  of  them.  They  distinguish  eight  quarters  of  the 
heaven  and  winds  to  match.  In  their  conception  of  the  world  the  ocean  is 
imagined  as  being  everywhere  full  of  islands,  which  helps  to  explain  their  daring 
voyages.  They  even  inscribe  their  geographical  knowledge  upon  maps,  but 
while  on. these  the  bearings  are  to  some  extent  correct,  the  distances  are  given 
very  inaccurately.  In  the  Ralick  group  the  preparation  of  maps  from  small 
straight  and  bent  sticks,  representing  routes,  currents,  and  islands,  is  a  secret  art 
among  the  chiefs.     The  Marshall  Islanders  also  possess  a  map  of  their  own,  made 


Boat  of  the  Luzon  1  agals. 


(From  a  model  m  Dr.  Hans  Meyer  s  Collection, 
Leipzig. ) 


lyo 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


up  of  little  sticks  and  stones,  showing  the  whole  group  (p.  165).  On  their  greater 
enterprises  they  go  to  sea  in  a  thoroughly  systematic  way  ;  the  longer  voyages  of 
from  500  to  1000  nautical  miles  are  undertaken  only  in  squadrons  comprising 
at  least  fifteen  canoes,  commanded  by  a  chief  who  has  one  or  more  pilots  to 
advise  him.  Without  compass,  chart,  or  lead,  and  with  but  limited  knowledge 
of  the  stars,  these  men  contrived  to  make  their  distant  point.  On  their  voyages 
they  steadily  observe  the  angle  made  by  the  canoe  with  the  run  of  the  sea 
caused  by  the  trade  wind,  which,  north  of  the  equator,  blows  steadily  from  the 
north-east.  The  use  of  this  run,  which  remains  constant  even  with  shifting 
winds,  has  been  brought  by  the  native  pilots  to  great  refinement.      The  ocean 

currents  are  also 
no  less  well 
known  to  them 
by  experience, 
so  that  they  are 
able  to  take  this 
also  into  con- 
sideration in  lay- 
ing their  course. 
As  a  general  rule, 
in  order  to  get 
the  largest  pos- 
sible field  of  view, 
the  squadron  pro- 
ceeds in  line  in 
which  the  indi- 
vidual canoes  are 
so  widely  separ- 
ated that  they 
can  only  com- 
municate by  signal.  By  this  progress  on  a  wide  front  they  avoid  the  danger  of 
sailing  past  the  island  they  are  looking  for.  During  the  night  the  squadron 
closes  in.  This  whole  style  of  navigation  contradicts  the  supposition  that  before 
the  invention  of  the  compass  only  coasting  voyages  were  undertaken. 

Polynesians  and  Micronesians  often  ship  on  board  European  vessels,  where 
they  prove  themselves,  apart  from  their  limited  physical  strength,  excellent  sea- 
men. The  Hawaiians  or  Kanakas,  who  are  often  tried  in  the  whale  fishery,  are, 
according  to  Wilkes,  skilful  men,  but  not  suited  for  service  on  board  a  man-of- 
war.  They  are  more  serviceable  in  small  than  in  large  parties,  being  very  fond  of 
putting  their  work  upon  some  one  else.  They  are  timid  about  going  aloft. 
Their  best  place  is  at  the  oar,  but  even  so,  when  going  through  the  surf,  they 
prefer  to  jump  overboard  and  swim.  On  board  a  man-of-war  they  find  difficulty 
in  accustoming  themselves  to.  the  word  of  command,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  in 
whaling  ships  they  show  themselves  willing,  hard-working,  and  fearless. 

In  the  eastern  districts  the  navigation  of  the  Malays  connects  itself  with  that 
of  the  Micronesians.  Their  distant  expeditions  for  purposes  of  trade  or  piracy, 
which  ultimately  became  racial  migrations,  were  carried  on  in  outrigo-ed  or  double 
boats  with  triangular  reed  or  mat  sails,  and  to  this  very  day  many  of  the  Malayan 


Sumatran /raAa.     (From  model  in  the  Munich  Ethnographical  Museum.) 


THE  RACES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS  171 

prahus  of  recognised  excellence  have  not  an  ounce  of  iron  about  them.  Inland 
races  in  Malacca,  in  Borneo,  Luzon,  and  other  islands,  have  no  vessels  at  all,  and 
there  are  some  fishing  tribes  who  get  along  with  bamboo  rafts  (so-called  cata- 
marans) after  the  Chinese  model,  and  dug-out  canoes.  The  races  who  have  been 
most  operative  in  the  history  of  this  widespread  group,  whether  they  be  genuine 
Malays  or  Alfurs,  Tagals  or  Goramese,  are  distinguished  by  their  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  sea,  to  which  in  great  measure  they  owe  their  conspicuous 
position.  These  are  the  races  of  whom  it  has  been  said  that  they  would  never 
build  a  house  on  dry  land  if  they  could  find  a  place  in  the  water.  Their  skill 
in  navigation  is  sufficient  to  meet  even  European  requirements.  The  prahus 
belonging  to  the  once  piratical  village  of  Sounsang  in  Sumatra  on  the  Palcmbang 
coast,  carried  the  post  between  Palembang  and  Muntok  for  years,  across  the 
tempestuous  Banca  Straits  ;  and  never  within  the  memory  of  man  were  these 
light  vessels  seriously  behind  time.  The  Government  of  the  Dutch  Indies  employ 
none  but  natives,  mostly  pure  Malays,  on  board  their  large  fleet  of /;'«^M-cruisers  ; 
though  there  are  many  Chinese  and  Arabs  among  the  freighters.  The  Malayan 
prahu  was  originally  a  somewhat  shallow  boat  with  one  sail,  and  having  a  keel. 
The  most  renowned  shipbuilders  are  the  Ke  islanders,  whose  boats,  built  of 
wood  fastened  with  wooden  bolts  and  rattan,  sail  through  the  whole  New  Guinea 
Archipelago  to  Singapore  ;  and  next  to  them  the  Badjos  and  Bugises  of  South 
Celebes,  and  the  Malays  of  Billiton,  Palembang,  and  Acheen.  The  Malagasies 
must  have  lost  much  of  the  art  of  shipbuilding,  though  they  once  suffered  it  to 
reach  their  island.  Their  usual  boat  is  a  "  dug-out "  with  round  bottom  and  no 
keel,  provided  with  outriggers  when  at  sea — the  Hova  boats  have  no  outriggers — 
carrying  large  square  or  lateen  sails  made  of  mats  of  palm-straw,  or  of  cloth. 
In  another  kind  of  boat  the  floor  consists  of  one  hewn  tree-stem,  upon  which  the 
slim  craft,  most  elegant  in  form,  is  built  up  with  strakes  hardly  more  than  an 
inch  wide.  The  sharp  beak  runs  out  in  a  kind  of  neck,  raised  high,  and  adorned 
with  peculiar  carvings  ;  while  the  vessel  tapers  aft  to  a  narrow  stern,  also  elevated 
and  similarly  ornamented.  These  boats  also  have  outriggers,  are  20  to  30  feet 
long,  and  hardly  3  feet  wide. 

Their  active  sea-trafiic  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  in  the  life  of 
the  Malays.  It  is  no  mere  coasting-trade  that  is  carried  on  by  some  expert 
navigators  among  the  races  of  the  Archipelago,  notably  the  true  Malays  of 
Sumatra  and  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  the  colonists  from  thence  in  Borneo 
and  other  islands.  They  are  not  afraid  of  competition  with  the  Chinese,  whom 
they  have  obviously  taken  for  their  model,  formidable  as  these  are  in  trade  ; 
they  act  mostly  as  clever  middlemen  to  them,  pushing  into  the  interior  of  the 
islands,  where  they  are  preferred  by  the  native  authorities,  and  also  reaching 
farther  eastward  than  the  Chinese.  They  make  use,  moreover,  of  European 
communications.  Piracy  has  never  succeeded  in  paralysing  this  native  traffic, 
whichr  indeed  has  known  how  to  come  to  terms  with  it ;  nor,  although  not  a  year 
passes  without  some  prahu  from  Goram  being  fallen  upon  by  the  inhospitable 
Papuans  of  New  Guinea,  does  this  injure  it  either,  any  more  than  it  hinders  the 
people  of  Tidor  from  visiting  those  coasts,  abounding  in  slaves  and  trepang,  with 
whole  fleets.  Entire  populations  have  been,  as  it  were,  rendered  fluid  by  means 
of  trade — above  all  the  Malays  of  Sumatran  origin,  proverbially  clever,  keen, 
omnipresent ;  and  the  equally  smart  but  treacherous  Bugises  of  Celebes,  who  are 


172  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


to  be  found  in  every  spot  from  Singapore  to  New  Guinea,  and  have  recently 
immigrated  in  large  numbers  into  Borneo  at  the  instance  of  local  chiefs,  bo 
great  is  their  influence  that  they  are  allowed  to  govern  themselves  according  to 
their  own  laws  ;  and  they  are  so  conscious  of  their  own  strength  that  there  has 
been  no  lack  of  attempts  to  make  themselves  independent.  The  Acheenese  once 
held  a  similar  position.  After  the  decline  of  Malacca,  which  the  Sumatran 
Malays  had  made  an  emporium,  there  were,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  several  decades  during  the  turning  period  of  the  world's  history  when 
Acheen  was  the  busiest  roadstead  of  the  far  east. 

All  things  being  taken  together,  the  capabilities  of  the  Malayo-Polynesians 
as  navigators  are  pre-eminent.  It  is  only  because  this  estimate  of  them  has  not 
always  been  taken  that  their  distribution  assumed  the  look  of  a  riddle,  though  in 
fact  it  was  no  riddle  whatsoever. 

With  the  dispersion  of  the  Polynesian  races  over  the  islands  of  the  ocean, 
first  through  storms  and  currents,  then  by  voluntary  migration,  was  associated  in 
later  times  the  traffic  in  men,  called  into  existence  by  the  growing  demand  for 
labour  in  regions  of  economic  progress,  like  Hawaii,  Samoa,  or  Queensland.  In 
its  beginnings  it  was  indistinguishable  from  kidnapping.  Men  and  boys  were 
dragged  from  their  homes  by  force,  or  decoyed  by  false  representations,  and 
carried  to  districts  where  they  had  never  wanted  to  be.  The  regulations  framed 
later  by  various  governments  remained  for  the  most  part  ineffective  for  want  of 
officials  to  look  after  them.  Even  when  the  planters  were  compelled  to  send 
their  Kanakas  back  at  the  end  of  three  years,  captains  often  landed  them,  for 
their  own  convenience,  on  some  island  where  the  poor  creatures  had  never  lived, 
and  where  they  were  ill-treated  and  often  killed  by  the  inhabitants.  Since  the 
arrival  of  Europeans,  too,  the  decrease  of  the  population  has  caused  shiftings  in 
most  islands.  Immigrants  from  a  wide  area,  extending  from  New  Zealand  to 
the  Marquesas,  have  come  to  Hawaii.  On  the  other  hand  Hawaii  is  one  of  the 
groups  whence  native  missionaries  have  propagated'  Christianity  far  into  the 
Melanesian  region. 

In  the  world  of  Polynesian  mythology  and  legend  we  constantly  come  across 
migrations  undertaken  from  the  most  various  motives.  Everything  important  or 
peculiar  has  been  brought  over  sea  ;  the  wide  horizon  of  the  ocean,  no  less  than 
the  narrow  one  of  the  island-world,  gleams  with  a  divine  light  upon  these 
migration-legends  ;  remoter  islands  are  half-way  stations  between  this  world  and 
the  next.  To  quote  Bastian  :  "  Once  upon  a  time,  after  a  long  voyage,  a  ship  was 
cast  away  upon  a  strange  coast.  It  looked  very  strange  to  the  new-comers, 
offering  the  appearance  of  an  uncanny  spectre-land  :  for  they  walked  through 
trees  and  houses  without  feeling  them.  A  figure  met  them  and  told  them  that 
they  were  in  the  realm  of  spirits.  They  followed  his  injunction  to  return  home  at 
once,  and  were  driven  along  quickly  by  a  favouring  wind.  But  they  had  only 
time  to  relate  how  they  had  gone  astray  before  they  departed  this  life.  'Since 
then  that  deadly  coast  has  been  avoided."  On  Raiatea  it  was  told  of  Tangaroa 
that  after  peopling  the  world  he  changed  himself  into  a  canoe,  which,  after 
bringing  men  along,  and  preparing  the  red  of  the  sky  from  their  blood,  furnished 
the  model  for  the  temple.  Assistance  in  the  erection  of  the  islands  was  rendered 
by  casual  comers,  which  would  give  them  an  additional  ground  for  a  title  to  it. 
When  Savage   Island  was  raised  out   of  the  sea,  two   men  who   swam   over  from 


THE  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS  173 

Tonga  put  it  in  order  ;  and  the  steepness  of  its  coast  on  one  side  is  ascribed  to 
the  carelessness  of  the  one  who  worked  there.  Others  think  that  these  helpers 
stamped  the  islands  out  of  the  sea.  The  Hawaiian  account  is  simpler  :  When 
Hawaii  had  been  hatched  from  the  sea-bird's  egg,  some  people  came  from  Tahiti, 
a  man  and  his  wife,  with  a  dog,  a  pig,  and  a  hen  in  their  canoe.  Ulu  introduced 
the  bread-fruit  which  is  named  after  him,  and  his  brother  the  cloth  made  from  the 
bast  of  the  mulberry  tree.  The  gods,  who  were  originally  the  sole  inhabitants 
of  these  islands,  were  approached  to  obtain  leave  to  settle.  The  mother-country, 
"  Hawaiki,"  soon  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  land  of  the  other  world — a  spirit-land  ; 
what  descended  from  it  was  hallowed.  Tamatekapua,  the  son  of  the  Clouds, 
brought  Rongomai  to  New  Zealand  as  its  tutelary  god  from  the  spirit-land  ;  and 
there,  too,  was  preserved  the  stone  idol  brought  from  Hawaiki,  Matua-Tonga,  the 
son  of  the  south,  as  the  Kumaras'  god.  If  we  find  tradition  bringing  white 
priests  and  their  gods  to  Hawaii,  we  are  led  to  see  other  relations,  namely  with 
the  west,  the  direction  of  them  being  indicated  by  the  casting  away  on  these 
shores  of  people  from  Eastern  Asia. 

Traditions  are  not  kept  alive  by  memory  only.  Political  and  social  relations 
follow  to  this  day  the  lines  of  old  connections  which  link  together  island  groups 
far  distant  from  each  other.  Legends  of  migration  survive  in  individual  villages 
and  families,  where  the  old  home  is  still  remembered,  and  the  connection  with  it 
often  bound  closer  by  special  reverence.  The  Tongans  were  long  in  the  habit 
of  respectfully  greeting  the  people  of  Tokelau,  as  being  their  ancestors.  Men 
from  Ulie  in  the  Carolines,  who  visited  the  island  of  Guam  in  the  Mariannes  in 
1788,  followed  the  roads  from  old  descriptions  preserved  in  songs  ;  since  then  the 
intercourse  has  become  brisker,  and  at  the  present  day  the  Caroline  islanders 
collect  coco-nuts  in  the  Mariannes  on  behalf  of  foreign  traders.  Political 
connection,  again,  is  often  bound  up  with  objects  that  have  been  either  left  behind 
or  brought  along.  The  Uluthi  Islands  are  subject  to  Yap,  because  a  great 
destruction,  by  means  of  an  inundation  of  the  sea,  would  take  place  if  an  axe 
belonging  to  one  of  the  gods,  which  is  buried  in  the  latter  island,  were  to  be  dug 
up.  When  these  lines  of  attraction  or  attachment  intersect,  quarrels  cannot  be 
far  off.  Thus  the  Samoans  relate  that  one  of  their  chiefs  fished  up  Rotuma  and 
planted  coco-palm  on  it.  But  in  a  later  migration  the  chief  Tukunua  came  that 
way  with  a  canoe  full  of  men  and  quarrelled  with  him  about  the  prior  right  of 
possession.  The  Maoris  found  another  ground  for  quarrelling :  having  come 
from  little  islands  where  land  was  scarce,  every  man  laid  claim  to  estates  in  New 
Zealand  that  were  too  large. 

The  scantiness  of  migration  legends  in  Melanesia  has  been  regarded  as  only 
a  part  of  the  general  dearth  of  tradition  which  is  a  Melanesian  characteristic. 
Fiji  offers  us  unwonted  examples  of  legends  of  inland  migrations,  directed  from 
the  north-west  towards  the  south-east,  which  in  still  later  times  was  uninhabited. 
No  doubt  this  bears  upon  the  fact  that  the  home  of  souls  lies  across  the  sea,  and 
that  all  the  spots  whence  souls  go,  that  is  swim,  to  the  next  world,  face  north-west. 

If,  out  of  all  these  innumerable  wanderings  to  and  fro  to  which  various  causes 
have  given  rise,  one  group  stands  out  by  reason  of  the  great  extent  of  its 
ethnographic  operation — that,  namely,  which  has  occupied  the  region  between 
New  Zealand  and  Hawaii,  Fiji  and  Easter  Island,  with  a  strikingly  homogeneous 
population — that  is  but  part  of  the  result  of  the  great  migratory  movement  in 


174  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKLXD 


the  Pacific.  It  is  quite  wrong  to  regard  this  as  a  single  event,  or  as  an  exception. 
It  is  rather  one  case  of  the  rule  ;  for  none  of  these  races  was  ever  at  rest.  They 
wandered  far  and  near,  colonising  consciously  and  intentionally,  like  any 
Greeks  or  Phoenicians.  In  any  case  this  last  series  of  great  migrations  and 
settlements  is  a  single  existing  fact  belonging  to  that  stage  in  the  development  of 
culture  which  we  call  the  stone  age.  For  that  reason  it  is  not  easy  to  understand ; 
we  have  no  means  of  comparison  with  similar  achievements.  The  area  which  this 
colonising  activity  has  rendered  productive  far  exceeds  the  empire  of  Alexander 
or  of  Rome.  In  the  domain  of  annexation  it  was  the  greatest  performance 
previous  to  the  discovery  of  America. 

It  was  with  astonishment  that  the  close  connection  of  the  languages  of 
Oceania  was  first  recognised.  Just  as  little  could  the  general  ethnographical 
similarity  be  overlooked  ;  the  only  difficulty  was  to  find  therein  a  scale  of  affinity, 
still  more  of  remoteness,  in  point  of  time.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  from 
New  Guinea  to  Easter  Island  we  are  in  presence  of  essentially  one  civilization. 
A  special  branch  of  it  has  developed  in  the  narrower  region  of  Polynesia.  The 
elements  of  this  civilization  are  distributed  over  the  islands  with  little  uniformity. 
We  cannot  ignore  the  possibility  that  closer  affinities  are  indicated .  by  .  the 
distribution  of  particular  articles,  but  hitherto  the  right  way  to  identify  them  has 
hardly  been  taken,  least  of  all  by  those  who  imagine  they  see  in  New.  Zealand  the 
point  whence  Polynesian  migrations  had  set  out.  For  the  distribution  of  certain 
weapons  upon  which  this  hypothesis  rests  in  the  first  instance  is  everywhere  so 
uneven  and  capricious  that  conclusions  of  very  wide  import  cannot  be  based  upon 
it.  That  the  home  of  the  Maui  myth  appears  to  be  in  New  Zealand  ;  that  the 
title  Ariki  is  here  applied  to  priests,  but  in  the  rest  of  Polynesia  to  temporal 
chiefs  ;  and  that  New  Zealand  alone  can  be  the  home  of  the  articles  made  of 
jade  which  are  scattered  throughout  Polynesia,  none  of  these  are  facts  from  which 
we  can  draw  the  important  conclusion  that  New  Zealand  was  the  point  of 
dispersion. 

It  is  solely  upon  the  basis  of  the  traditions  that  the  view  of  the  great  majority 
of  students  is  at  present  to  the  effect  that  not  only  the  New  Zealanders  but  also 
other  Polynesians  migrated  to  their  present  abodes  from  some  southerly  point  in 
equatorial  Polynesia.  The  Maori  tradition  is  that  they  came  to  their  island  from 
a  place  called  Hawaiki ;  they  seem  to  distinguish  a  larger  and  smaller,  or  a  nearer 
and  further  Hawaiki.  "  The  seed  of  our  coming  is  from  Hawaiki,  the  seed  of  our 
nourishing,  the  seed  of  mankind."  This  name,  Hawaiki,  is  cognate  with  a  whole 
number  of  Polynesian  place  names :  Savaii  in  the  Samoa  group,  Hawaii  in  the 
group  of  that  name,  Apai  in  the  Tonga  Islands,  Evava  in  the  Marquesas  and 
others.  Savaii,  one  of  the  Samoa  or  Navigator  Islands,  has  the  greatest  pro- 
bability on  its  side.  As  Hawaii  it  forms  also  the  starting-point  for  emigration  to 
Raiatea  and  Tahiti,  while  the  legends  of  the  Marquesas  and  Hawaii  refer  back  to 
Tahiti.  There  is  a  song  in  which  Rarotonga,  Waerota,  Waeroti,  Parima,  and 
Manono  are  mentioned  as  neighbouring  islands  to  Tahiti.  The  Rarotongans 
themselves  have  the  tradition  that  they  come  from  Awaiki.  Waerota  and 
Waeroti  are  now  unknown,  but  Parima  and  Manono  are  small  islets  of  the  Samoan 
group,  the  inhabitants  of  which  say  they  came  from  Savaii.  Wild  dogs  like  those 
of  New  Zealand,  the  same  kind  of  rats,  the  sweet  potato,  the  taro,  the  same  kind 
of  gourd,  are  found  in  the  Navigator  Islands.      Maori  traditions  again   which  call 


THE  RACES   OF   THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS  175 


Rarotonga  the  way  to  Hawaiki,  and  say  that  some  of  the  New  Zealand  boats  were 
built  in  Rarotonga,  are  equally  in  favour  of  the  journey  having  been  made  first 
from  the  somewhat  mythical  Hawaiki  to  that  island  which  no  doubt  is  the 
"  nearer  Hawaiki "  of  tradition.  It  is  possible  that  the  larger  part  of  the  Maoris 
are  of  Rarotongan  origin. 

The  songs  of  the  New  Zealanders  tell  us  even  now  the  reason  for  their 
emigration  and  their  farther  wandering.  A  chief  by  the  name  of  Ngahue  was 
driven  to  flight  by  a  civil  war  which  devastated  Hawaiki.  After  a  long  journey 
he  reached  New  Zealand  and  returned  to  Hawaiki  with  pieces  of  greenstone  and 
the  bones  of  a  giant-bird.  Other  legends  give  him  the  name  Kup6 — the  weaker 
party  in  the  war  that  was  still  going  on  among  the  islanders  tnigrated  to  New 
Zealand  with  him.  The  tradition  still  preserves  the  names  of  the  double  canoes 
in  which  the  voyage  was  accomplished.  The  legend  still  recalls  how  the  seeds  of 
sweet  potatoes,  taro,  gourds,  karaka  berries,  dogs,  parrots,  and  rats,  and  sacred 


Carved  boat  from  New  Zealand  ;  actual  length  8  ft.  s  in.     (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology. ) 

red  paint  were  put  on  board  the  canoes,  and  how,  as  the  emigrant's  fleet  departed, 
an  old  chief  exhorted  to  peace.  Nor  is  the  storm  forgotten  which  got  up  in  the 
night  and  scattered  the  fleet,  nor  the  doubt  whether  they  should  steer  east  or 
west,  nor  the  little  quarrels  which  arose  among  the  crews  of  individual  canoes 
chiefly  on  account  of  the  women.  The  canoes  were  repaired  on  islands  as  they 
went  along.  Finally,  what  was  left  of  the  wanderers  reached  New  Zealand  in 
the  summer  time,  and  even  before  the  chiefs  had  decided  on  the  place  to  land, 
certain  families  landed  where  pleasant  bays  smiled  upon  them,  all  in  the  North 
Island.  It  was  not  till  later  that  the  Middle  and  South  Islands  received  their 
population.  Even  to  this  day  the  north  is  called  the  Lower  and  the  south  the 
Upper  Island.  The  various  tribal  groups  trace  their  origin  to  their  canoes,  the 
names  of  which  they  have  preserved,  and  equally  the  names  of  the  chiefs  and 
the  exact  spot  where  the  canoe  landed.  One  canoe  sailed  round  the  North  Cape, 
another  made  its  way  through  Cook's  Straits  ;  these  two  brought  the  first  settlers 
to  the  west  coast.  Wharekauri  or  Chatham  Island,  some  sixty  nautical  miles 
distant  from  New  Zealand,  must  have  been  peopled  at  the  same  time. 

A  second  starting-point  is  indicated  by  tradition  in  the  Tonga  or  Friendly 
Islands.  The  inhabitants  of  Nukahiva  in  the  Marquesas  make  their  forefathers 
come  with  bread-fruit  and  sugar-cane  from  Vavau  in  the  Tonga  Archipelago. 
But  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  southern  part  of  that  archipelago  the  Hawaiki 
legend  appears  again,  although  language  and  customs  rather  point  to  Tahiti.  In 
this  connection  we  may  remember  that  in  Raiatea  also  there  was  once  a  locality 


176 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


(i)  God  of  dances  in  the  form  of  a  double  paddle,  Easter  Island;  (2) 
toothed  club  from  Tutuila  ;  (3)  ancient  club  from  Tonga  ;  (4,  5)  short 
clubs  from  Easter  Island.      {Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology.) 


designated  Hawaii.  The 
Hawaii  or  Sandwich' 
Islands  offer  the  same 
difficulty.  Language  and 
customs  connect  their 
inhabitants  with  Tahiti 
to  which,  as  also  to  the 
Marquesas,  Hawaiian 
travel  myths  point.  On 
the  other  hand,  place 
names  show  a  lively  re- 
collection of  the  Samoa 
group.  Tahiti  seems  to 
have  sent  forth  emigrants 
to  Hawaii,  Nukahiva, 
Rarotonga  ;  yet  the  ex- 
plicit tradition  of  the 
Rarotongans  makes  their 
island  to  have  been 
settled  almost  simultan- 
eously from  Samoa  and 
Tahiti.  But  then  from 
Rarotonga  again  came 
the  colonists  for  the 
Gambler  and  Austral 
Islands,  with  Rapa,  and 
also  a  part  of  those  who 
made  the  great  journey 
to  New  Zealand. 

We  feel  some  scruple 
about  making  the  name 
Hawaiki  indicate  one 
single  island  of  a  small 
archipelago.  Strearns  of 
emigration  are  supposed 
to  have  poured  forth 
from  it,  at  the  most  vari- 
ous epochs,  to  Hawaii  as 
well  as  to  New  Zealand, 
to  Tahiti  no  less  than 
to  Tonga.  Why  just 
that  one  and  that  only? 
No  doubt  the  name  pos- 
sesses a  general,  and  like 
other  place  -  names,  a 
mythical  significance, 
wherewith  many  of  the 
attributes  of  the  legend 


THE  RACES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS 


177 


can  more  easily  be  combined  than  with  that  somewhat  forced  geographical  inter- 
pretation. We  are  from  the  first  warned  to  be  cautious  by  the  fact  that  this 
legend  of  Hawaiki  is  one  of  the  few  legends  related  by  a  race  about  its  own 
origin,  which  science  has  nevertheless  thoroughly  accepted.  At  all  tiipes  we 
are  strongly  averse  to  such  traditions,  since  they  are  never  free  from  mythical 
elements.  The  geographical  position  of  Hawaiki  is  not  absolutely  certain  in  all 
traditions ;  but  rather  shows  a 
considerable  fluctuation.  It  even 
turns  up  as  a  spirit  land,  as  the 
land  of  the  West,  where  the  souls 
go  with  the  sun  into  the  under 
world,  as  the  land  of  souls,  and 
so  as  the  land  of  forefathers,  the 
ancestral  land.  We  can  now 
understand  the  belief  of  the 
Marquesans  that  their  entire 
country  once  lay  in  this  Hawaiki, 
and  came  up  from  it.  Simi- 
larly it  is  the  land  where  man- 
kind once  lost  their  immortality, 
and  from  spirits  became  men. 
Numerous  place  -  names  show 
that  a  name  may  recur  widely 
without  actual  transmission. 
Lastly,  the  fluctuations  in  in- 
dividual traditions  must  not  be 
overlooked.  If  a  Tahitian  ori- 
gin is  universally  assumed  by 
the  Hawaiians,  traditions  also 
point  to  the  Marquesas  and 
Samoa,  and  from  the  Marquesas 
the  threads  lead  back  to  Tahiti, 
Samoa,  and  even  Tonga.  The 
old  Hawaiians  seem  by  "  Tahiti  " 
to  have  understood  strangers  in 
general.  The  Maori  ^  legends 
also  testify  that  not  one  immigration  only,  but  several,  took  place  from  the  north- 
ward. A  much  later  arrival  is  emphasised  in  all  the  legends.  We  know  therefore 
why  those  wanderers  are  alleged  to  have  found  in  these  islands  aboriginal  inhabitants, 
of  whom  the  geological  record  of  New  Zealand,  and  its  fossils,  have  so  far  revealed 
no  trace.  At  any  rate,  the  fact,  still  contested,  that  the  dog  occurs  not  as  the 
companion  of  man,  but  as  a  beast  of  prey,  points  to  another  civilization  than  that 
which  met  the  first  Europeans  who  visited  the  Maoris.  The  legend  of  the 
various  immigrations  also  takes  various  forms.  In  New  Zealand  the  new  comers 
find  footmarks,  which  they  recognise  as  those  of  one  of  their  companions  who  had 
been  thrown  out  of  his  boat.      One  legend  speaks  of  fair  natives,  and  of  the  rise 

^  Maori  "native  "  in  opposition  to  Pakeha  " stranger  "  occurs  in  the  same  sense  in  other  parts  of  Polynesia, 
in  the  forms  Maoi  and  Maoli, 

N 


Thakombau,  the  last  king  of  Fiji.     (From  a  photograph  in  the 
possession  of  Herr  Max  Buchner. ) 


1/8  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


of  a  darker  stock  through  mixture  with  older  inhabitants  ;  Hkewise  of  men  who 
lived  on  these  islands  "  after  the  great  monster,"  and  who  left  great  shell  heaps 
behind  them.  We  reach  quite  mythical  ground  with  the  Pua-Reingas,  who  lived 
underground  and  could  not  be  conquered  till  a  chief  made  a  hole  in  the  earth 
by  which  the  sunbeams  entered.  Less  frequently,  for  instance  in  Rarotonga, 
Mangarewa,  the  Kingsmill  or  Austral  groups,  the  legend  is  decided  as  to  their 
being  uninhabited. 

The  epochs  of  the  Polynesian  migrations  must  have  been  very  various.  They 
took  place  so  long  as  there  were  any  Polynesians  in  the  Pacific.  In  the  case  of 
the  colonisation  of  Rarotonga,  tradition  demands  thirty  generations,  in  that  of  the 
Maoris  fifteen  to  twenty.  On  Nukahiva  indeed  we  hear  of  eighty-eight  generations ; 
and  there  are  sixty-seven  ancestors  of  Kamehameha  ;  but  to  these  figures  no  credit 
can  be  given.  We  are  entitled,  however,  to  assign  no  great  antiquity  to  Polynesian 
colonisation.  The  people  have  not  had  time  to  develop  any  marked  peculiarities 
in  culture.  The  date  of  their  arrival  in  New  Zealand  and  the  other  places  of 
immigration  can  only  be  a  matter  of  some  centuries  back.  The  settlement  of 
Tahiti  no  doubt  falls  earlier.  Many  isolated  casual  migrations  may  have  preceded 
the  greater  deliberate  movements.  But  in  any  case  we  must  clearly  grasp  the 
fact  that  there  was  a  period  during  which  the  sending  forth  of  colonies  was 
enjoined  by  the  increase  in  population,  and  was  rendered  possible  by  the  political 
organisation.  In  the  newly  occupied  territories  too,  the  development  of  the  new 
populations  began  upon  a  higher  level,  and  then  fell  off ;  upon  the  remoter 
islands  like  New  Zealand,  Hawaii,  Easter  Island,  where  disturbing  influence  pressed 
upon  them  less,  they  retained  the  most  traces  of  a  past  higher  condition.  The 
decadence  of  the  Maoris  affords  a  conspicuous  instance  of  a  rapid  impoverishment 
in  the  advantages  of  culture.  The  larger  states  split  up  into  small  communities, 
on  a  mutual  footing  of  feud  and  extermination,  having  lost  the  consciousness  of 
a  stronger  cohesion,  with  its  power  to  maintain  culture.  The  character  of  the 
people  lost  in  demeanour  and  discipline,  becoming  ever  more  savage  and  cruel. 
Hand  in  hand  with  this  went  belief  in  their  old  native  gods,  and  the  transforma- 
tion of  these  into  demons  of  the  forest  and  the  sea,  cruel  spectral  caricatures, 
distorted  at  pleasure.  A  superstitious  cult  of  the  individual  took  the  place  of  the 
state  or  national  religion.  They  went  back  even  in  the  arts  ;  even  in  Cook's  time 
works  of  former  generations  were  preserved  as  sacred  objects,  which  they  had  lost 
the  knowledge  and  the  capacity  to  produce. 

These  migrations  were  not  confined  within  the  limits  of  Polynesia.  Colonies 
went  forth  into  all  the  Melanesian  groups  ;  where  we  obtain  a  general  impression 
of  a  permeation  with  Polynesian  elements  from  the  eastward.  On  the  small 
islands  they  hold  their  ground  ;  on  the  larger  they  were  merged  in  the  mass  of 
the  resident  population,  but  not  without  leaving  their  traces.  Ethnographical 
varieties  become  clear,  if  we  remember  that  one  or  the  other  element  has  been  the 
bearer  of  them.  Thus  in  the  territory  of  the  New  Hebrides  and  Solomon  Islands, 
where  "  mother -right "  prevails,  Polynesian  colonists  have  brought  in  "  father- 
right  "  ;  in  this  case  a  revolutionary  institution.  Echoes  of  New  Zealand  meet 
us  in  the  visible  speech  of  New  Caledonian  architecture,  in  the  clubs  of  Eastern 
New  Guinea,  and  in  other  cases.  In  Micronesia,  Polynesian  affinities  are  yet 
more  frequent.  There  many  customs  remind  us  with  especial  force  of  the  western 
Polynesians   and   at   the   same    time    of  the    Fijians.      Not    only,   however,   have 


THE  RACES  OF   THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS  179 

Polynesians    made    their    way   to    Melanesia,   but   we    have    historical    proof   of 
Melanesian  colonies  in  Polynesia. 

Nothing  indicates  more  clearly  the  frequency  and  extent  of  these  migrations 
than  the  very  small  number  of  totally  uninhabited  islands.  These  vikings  of  the 
Pacific  contrived  to  discover  even  small  and  remote  islets.  In  the  whole  of  the 
Pacific  there  is  not  one  island  of  any  size  of  which  it  was  left  to  Europeans  to 
demonstrate  the  habitability.  Many  of  them  were  only  visited  periodically  for 
their  palms  or  the  fishing ;  but  these  were  in  all  cases  certain  to  be  less  well  suited 
than  the  others  for  habitation.  Of  the  little  islets  which  rise  from  a  common  base 
in  a  reef,  and  lie  almost  flush  with  the  sea,  forming  an  atoll,  often  only  one  in  a 
group,  the  largest  or  most  productive,  is  inhabited.  Indubitable  traces  of  former 
habitation  show  that  the  uninhabited  regions  did  not  extend  beyond  their  present 
boundaries.  These  are  proved  to  lie  in  those  central  Pacific  Sporades  which  hold 
so  important  a  place  between  the  groups  of  Eastern  Polynesia  and  Hawaii,  such 
as  the  Guano  Islands  of  the  Central  Pacific,  the  Penrhyn  group,  the  most  south- 
easterly islets  of  the  Paumotu  group,  and  others.  Norfolk  Island  is  the  only  one 
in  the  Southern  Pacific  which  can  be  pointed  out  as  having  from  its  natural 
conditions  and  endowments  deserved  to  be  permanently  settled  ;  but  in  the  angle 
it  makes  with  Australia  and  Polynesia,  it  lies  far  from  all  migrations,  and  it  has 
an  area  of  not  more  than  1 8  square  miles. 

Local  arrangement  breaks  up  the  wide  district  into  geographical  groups 
distinguished  by  ethnographic  characteristics  :  Melanesia  is  contiguous  to  New 
Guinea  ;  north  of  it,  separated  by  a  band  poor  in  islands,  we  find  Micronesia  over 
against  the  Moluccas  and  Philippines  to  the  eastward.  Polynesia  joins  on  in  the 
form  of  a  great  triangular  space  outflanking  the  eastern  side  of  the  two  districts 
already  named  both  to  south  and  to  north,  and  is  divided  by  a  tract  of  sea  with 
few  islands  into  a  western  group  of  Tonga,  Samoa,  and  Tokelau  with  Fiji,  and 
a  more  extended  eastern  group  reaching  from  Hawaii  to  New  Zealand.^ 

In  view  of  the  many  internal  differences  in  the  populations,  and  considering 
the  distinction,  great  but  difficult,  of  accurate  demarcation  between  Polynesians  and 
Melanesians,  there  is  little  purpose  in  dividing  off  smaller  groups  by  physical 
characteristics.  These  can  at  most  be  suggested.  It  is  just  possible  that  a  sharper 
racial  distinction  between  west  and  east  Polynesians  may  be  emphasised. 
According  to  Finsch,  among  all  the  Polynesians  the  Hawaiians  have  the  greatest 
similarity  with  the  Samoans.  The  Maoris  are  next  most  closely  connected  ;  this 
nearer  relationship  is  confirmed  by  the  language.  This  seems  to  be  a  similar 
phenomenon  to  that  of  the  deepening  of  the  lighter  skin  tint  of  the  Malays  into 
a  darker  as  we  go  eastward.  Confining  ourselves  to  tangible  objects,  we  will  now 
make  an  attempt  to  divide  the  area  of  Polynesian  culture  into  smaller  districts. 
In  this,  as  might  be  expected,  the  large  influential  groups  of  Samoa  and  Tonga 
show  an  affinity  with  the  neighbouring  Fiji.  This  strikes  us  most  clearly  in  our 
ethnographical  museums  by  the  abundance  and  variety  of  the  wonderfully  carved 
clubs.  Tonga  shows  linguistic  peculiarities,  shares  with  Fiji  in  respect  of  bows 
and  pottery,  and  builds  its  vessels  differently  from  Samoa.  In  the  Harvey  Islands 
to  the  eastward,  the  art  of  carving  has  been  absorbed  in  the  preparation  of 
hatchets  with  pretty  handles  rich  in  symbolic  forms.     The  Society   Isles  show 

'  [I  leave  this  as  in  the  original,  though  it  appears  from  the  map  that  a  line  drawn  from  Hawaii  to  New 
Zealand  passes  through  the  Tonga  group.] 


i8o  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


agreement  with  Hawaii  in  their  feather  work  and  axes.  In  the  Marquesas,  oars 
as  well  as  axes  and  dancing  stilts  are  carved  with  conventional  ornaments,  each 
of  which  has  its  name  and  its  significance,  reminding  us  somewhat  of  the  Easter 
Islanders'  writing.  The  Hawaii  or  Sandwich  Islands  are  distinguished  by  fine 
feather  masks  and  helmets,  and  have  weapons  with  wooden  handles,  set  with 
sharks'  teeth  like  knives.  These,  however,  find  their  richest  development  in  the 
Gilbert  or  Kingsmill  Island.  New  Zealand,  which  has  the  most  peculiar  climate 
of  any  region  inhabited  by  Polynesians,  is  the  culminating  point  and  the  horn  of 
plenty  in  regard  to  art  development  in  Oceania.  Its  favourite  manufacture  is  small 
hand  clubs,  called  mere,  made  like  many  ornamental  objects  from  jade.  Also 
richly  carved  sticks,  objects  in  greenstone,  symbols  of  rank  in  the  shape  of  oars, 
ships,  pillars  for  houses.  But  on  the  whole  it  preserves  agreement  with  the  rest 
of  Polynesia.  One  might  conclude  that  its  settlement  did  not  take  place  till  late, 
but  that  from  the  remoteness  of  these  islands  a  tranquil  development  resulted 
with  the  maintenance  of  many  old  notions  of  form.  If  the  Maori  dialect  is  in 
many  respects  richer  and  more  primitive  than  other  Polynesian  dialects,  this  may 
be  ascribed  to  the  more  plentiful  contact  of  the  tribes  over  wider  spaces.  The 
most  unique  existence  is  that  of  Easter  Island.  It  represents  among  the  islands 
what  the  naturalist  would  call  a  "  sport."  No  part  of  the  earth  shows  the  power 
of  isolation  with  more  impressive  clearness  than  this  little  spot  of  some  50  square 
miles.  The  most  trustworthy  descriptions  draw  attention  to  the  departure  of  the 
Easter  Islanders  from  the  pure  Polynesian  type.  Darker  coloured  skin  and  small 
eyes  point  perhaps  to  an  admixture  of  Melanesian  blood.  In  a  population  which 
by  the  highest  estimate  reached  3000,  and  before  the  days  of  small-pox  and 
kidnapping  were  reckoned  by  the  first  French  missionary  at  not  more  than  1500, 
even  small  admixtures  would  be  of  importance.  But  these  peculiarities,  not  very 
significant  under  any  circumstances,  disappear  when  we  look  at  the  special  ethno- 
graphical points,  positive  as  well  as  negative.  Above  all  other  Polynesians  the 
Easter  Islanders  possess  the  art  of  pottery  ;  also  an  obsolete  writing,  the  power  of 
executing  human  figures  in  wood-carving,  and  of  making  gigantic  stone  images  ; 
they  also  build  stone  huts.  But  on  the  other  hand  they  have  not  the  more  artistic 
forms  of  axe,  bow,  and  spear.  " 

Locally  and  ethnographically  the  Micronesians  stand  next  to  the  Malay 
Archipelago  and  East  Asia  ;  from  a  physical  point  of  view  they  display  many  of 
the  Mongoloid  marks  with  especial  clearness.  In  their  ethnographic  relations 
they  seem  to  be  a  race  which  has  come  down  from  a  higher  stage.  In  social  and 
political  institutions — in  their  money,  their  looms,  their  navigation — they  show 
traces  of  a  richer  development  of  the  external  life.  But  a  further  motive  must  be 
sought  in  the  less  secluded  character  of  the  entire  Micronesian  development,  upon 
which  the  neighbourhood  of  Asia  has  worked  both  advantageously  and  disturbingly. 
Many  objects  are  indistinguishably  like  those  of  particular  Malayan  localities ; 
thus  the  spears  of  the  Carolines  resemble  those  of  central  Celebes.  Polynesian 
influences  predominate  especially  in  the  Gilbert  Islands  ;  tattooing  instruments 
agree  exactly.  The  agreements  between  Melanesia  and  Micronesia  lie  in  a  mass 
of  small  details  ;  the  young  people  of  Astrolabe  Bay  wear,  besides  the  comb  in 
their  hair,  little  sticks  bound  with  grass  and  adorned  with  cock's  feathers,  repeating 
the  curious  head  ornament  of  the  Ruk  Islanders.  The  loom  of  Santa  Cruz,  unique 
in  the  Melanesian  region,  is  closely  akin  to  that  of  the  Carolines. 


THE  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND   THEIR  MIGRATIONS 


Within  the  region  of  the  darker  races  the  contrasts  are  naturally  sharper.  In 
every  archipelago,  and  in  New  Guinea,  lighter  and  darker  groups  may  be 
distinguished.  The  Papuas  of  New  Guinea  west  of  Humboldt  Bay,  are  on  the 
average  darker  than  those  to  the  eastward  ;  in  the  western  portion  we  no  longer 
meet  with  light  -  skinned,  straight  -  haired  people,  who  might  be  taken  for 
Polynesians.  Ethno- 
graphical character- 
istics point  partly  to 
the  more  easterly 
islands  of  the  Sunda 
group ;  the  short  bows 
of  bamboo  strung  with 
fibres,  or  the  stone 
clubs  and  the  armour. 
Of  smaller,  quite  spe- 
cial characteristics,  we 
may  note  the  arrows, 
exactly  like  those  of 
Ceram.  The  more 
warlike  and  enterpris- 
ing tribes  dwell  in 
East  New  Guinea ; 
they  are  far  superior 
to  the  natives  of  the 
interior,  the  stupid 
Dorese,  and  the  good- 
tempered,  cunning 
Papuas  of  the  south- 
west coast.  This 
character  extends  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighbouring  islands 
to  east  and  north. 
Between  the  Bis- 
marck and  Solomon 
Islanders,  too,  there  is 
a  great  agreement  in 
character ;  they  are 
strong,  coarse,  warlike, 

but  at  the  same  time  capable  of  work  and  receptive  of  education.  In  some 
distinctive  details,  such  as  the  use  of  coloured  bast  and  grass  for  ornament,  the 
Solomon  Islanders  agree  with  New  Guinea.  The  Trobriand,  D'Entrecasteaux, 
and  other  islands  southward  to  Teste  form,  with  eastermost  New  Guinea,  one 
ethnographical  province.  Here  we  begin  to  find  a  higher  proportion  than  in  New 
Guinea  of  population  partly  straight-haired  and  fair-skinned,  with  such  specific 
features  as  the  loin-cloth  made  from  the  pandanus-\&a.i,  the  working  of  small  disks 
of  red  spondylus-sheW  for  ornament,  the  peculiar  mode  of  inserting  the  axe-head, 
navigation    highly  advanced,   and   cannibalism.      Some    of   these    characteristics 


Rattan  cuirass,  throvving-sticks  of  dark  wood,  and  bark  belt,  from  Kaiser 
Wilhelm's  Land.      ( Berlin  Museum. ) 


l82 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


mark  the  transition  from  East  New  Guinea  to  the  more  westerly  regions.  Ahke 
in  New  Guinea  and  the  next  islands  to  the  eastward  there  has  been  developed 
a  style  in  which  the  human  countenance  is  rendered  by  means  of  two  straight 
lines,  one  at  right  angles  to  the  other,  to  indicate  the  nose  and  lower  nm  of  the 
forehead,  a  corresponding  line  giving  the  mouth.  The  effect  of  boredom  pro- 
duced  by  this  physiognomy  has  been   noted   as   being  the  effort   to  portray  the 


Axes  from  the  D'Entrecasteaux  Islands — one-eighth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection.) 

bored  Englishman  ;  but  it  also  reminds  us  of  the  "  tortoise-shell  style "  of  the 
Torres  Islands,  where  it  is  made  necessary  by  the  material.  In  the  case  of  the 
Admiralty  Islanders,  holding  as  they  do  an  intermediate  position  among  the 
rest  of  the  Melanesians,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  their  peculiarities  are 
negative.  Except  the  spear  they  have  no  weapons  ;  lacking  bow  and  arrow, 
throwing-stick,  sling,  and  axe.  Bow  and  arrow  are  wanting  also  among  other 
Melanesians,  and  the  Australians  ;  but  the  latter  have  other  weapons,  in  some 
cases  in  remarkable  abundance  and  variety.  In  the  poverty  of  the  islanders  of 
whom  we  are  speaking  one  might  be  inclined  to  see  an  effect  of  their  isolation, 
an  evidence  of  limited  intercourse.  But  many  other  characteristics  point  to  closer 
affinities,  in  one  or  another  direction,  with  the  inhabitants  of  Humboldt  Bay,  the 
Solomon  Islands,  or  New  Hanover. 


THE  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND    THEIR  MIGRATIONS 


183 


The  more  easterly  islands  of  Melanesia  show,  as  in  Fiji  and  the  New  Hebrides, 
the  largest  proportion  of  Polynesian  inflilences.  Fiji  indeed  cannot  be  understood 
apart  from  Tonga  ;  Fiji  is  "  upper,"  Tonga  "  lower."  The  relations  between  these 
two  groups  are  most  intimate.  Physically  the  Fijians  must  be  regarded  as  hybrids 
between  the  Mongoloid  and  the  Negroid  ;  etymologically  the  Tongan  is  of  all 
Polynesian  dialects  the  nearest  to  the  Fijian.  In  style  the  productions  of  Fiji 
bear  the  closest  resemblance  to  those  of  Samoa.  But  the  broad  paddles  of  New 
Hanover,  with  strong  middle  rib,  also  remind  us  vividly  of  this  group.  New 
Caledonia  and  the  Loyalty  Islands  form  a  district  by  themselves.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  the  former  island  are  more  pronounced  negroids  than  those  of  the  latter, 
where,  indeed,  Mare  contains  a  Polynesian  colony,  self-founded  ;  but  in  both 
Polynesian  influences  are 
clearly  apparent.  Deduct- 
ing the  effects  of  the  soil 
and  the  unfavourable  cli- 
mate, there  still  remain 
many  peculiarities  corre- 
sponding to  the  secluded 
position.  Among  these  are 
the  circular  huts,  the  pecu- 
liar shape  of  spears  and 
clubs,  the  absence  of  the 
bow,  the  use  of  the  pretty 
brown  bat's  fur  for  all  kinds 
of  adornments.  Special  to 
New     Caledonia    are     the 

binding  of  the  grip  of  a  weapon  with  string,  or  cloth,  the  attachment  of  woollen 
tassels,  and  the  like  ;  also  the  broad  jade  blades,  the  beak-shaped  clubs,  the 
absence  or  rudeness  of  sculpture.  The  closest  affinities  to  New  Caledonia  are 
shown  by  the  northern  New  Hebrides. 

While  Polynesian  influences  have  flowed  so  copiously  over  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Melanesia  that  they  got  possession  of  whole  islands,  Malay  influences 
have  been  far  less  active  on  the  west  side.  Only  in  western  New  Guinea  are 
they  decidedly  predominant.  On  its  eastern  shores,  till  you  come  towards  Tagai, 
the  people  of  New  Guinea  were  ten  years  ago  still  completely  in  the  stone  age ; 
while  in  the  west  the  working  of  iron  had  long  been  known.  Spear-heads,  short 
swords,  and  knives  soon  became  common  in  the  palaces  on  the  coast  of  Geelvink 
Bay.  The  colonies  coming  from  the  east,  who  settled  in  the  coast  districts  of 
eastern  New  Guinea,  appear  to  have  made  more  impression  than  the  conquerors 
and  rulers  from  the  west.  But  that,  in  spite  of  that,  an  old  connection  must  be 
assumed,  is  quite  clearly  seen  both  from  the  negroid  elements  which,  scattered  as 
they  are  throughout  the  Malay  Archipelago,  are  represented  with  especial  strength 
in  its  eastern  half,  and  also  from  ethnographic  characteristics.  In  the  district 
bounded  to  the  westward  by  a  line  drawn  through  Halmahera  and  Flores,  both 
elements  appear  so  strongly  that  the  region  appears  to  be  one  of  transition  from 
Malay  to  Melanesian.  Here  we  find  forms  of  bows  and  arrows  showing  a 
remarkable  similarity  with  the  Melanesian  ;  so,  too,  older  forms  of  spear,  filing 
of  teeth,  and  tattooing,  have  maintained  a  wide  extension. 


Carred  wooden  plaques,  used  as  stamps,  from  the  Fiji  Islands. 
(Godeffroy  Collection. ) 


i84 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that,  from  the  stream  of  migration  which  entered, 
the  Pacific  from  the  westward,  rills  were  diverted  to  the  continent  of  Australia. 
Here,  too,  we  have  a  mingled  strain,  whose  main  constituents  are  a  fairer  straight- 
haired,  and  a  darker   crisp -haired   race.       Relations  with  an    older   world    may 

unquestionably  be  pre- 
sumed. The  funda- 
mental ideas,  and  many 
details  in  the  initiatory 
rites  for  boys  and  girls, 
are  thoroughly  Ocean- 
ian, and  connect  at  least 
Northern  Australia  with 
the  neighbouring  New 
Guinea  and  its  adjacent 
islands.  Traces  of  taboo 
also  appear  ;  and  if  their 
usage  is  less  sharply 
marked  than  in  Poly- 
nesia, the  cause  may  be 
found  in  the  coarser  life 
and  more  indigent  con- 
dition of  the  Australians. 
In  former  times  more 
consistent  and  more 
highly -finished  customs 
may  have  prevailed.  For 
the  racial  dualism,  which 
the  rapid  progress  of 
crossing  has  done  its 
best  to  obliterate,  we 
can  look,  so  far  as  our- 
present  knowledge  al- 
lows, only  to  Papuas 
and  Malays.  It  is  a 
fact  that  Malays  live, 
temporarily  or  perman- 
ently, among  North  Australian  tribes,  and  exercise  no  small  influence  upon 
them  ;  while  on  the  other  hand  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  temporary 
intercourse  of  the  Torres  Islanders  with  both  Papuas  and  Australians.  On 
the  north-west  coasts  of  Australia  we  can  prove  Malayan  influence  more 
certainly  than  any  other.  The  extension  of  the  bamboo  in  Arnhemland, 
the  existence  of  small-pox  before  the  arrival  of  Europeans,  the  objection  to 
eat  pig-meat,  testify  to  this.  Perhaps  also  we  may  trace  to  the  same  cause 
the  absence  of  the  boomerang  in  North  Australia.  Without  doubt  these  races 
must  have  begun  to  permeate  long  before  the  historical  period.  The  Malay 
fisheries  on  the  North  Australian  coast  are,  says  Campbell,  a  settled  insti- 
tution, pointing  to  a  long  duration.  The  evidence  of  Tasmania  would  lead 
us    to    assume    a   crisp-haired    race    as    originally    inhabiting    Australia ;    for    the 


Jade  battle-axes  and  jade  hatchet,  insignia  of  chiefs,  from  New  Caledonia. 
(Christy  Collection. ) 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS  185 

Tasmanian  hair  was  decidedly  more  woolly  than  the  Australian.  The  apparently 
uniform  conditions  of  Australia  are  complicated  by  what  Bastian  calls  "  the 
shadow  which  the  great  continent  of  Asia  casts  over  these  oceanic  groups  of 
islands."  We  cannot  disprove  that  Malayo-Polynesian  elements  may  have  reached 
Australia  from  the  eastward  also,  just  as  easily  as  they  got  to  New  Guinea  ;  but 
no  evidence  for  it  is  forthcoming.  Norfolk  Island  was  uninhabited  when  dis- 
covered by  Europeans.  Nor  is  the  connection  with  New  Guinea  in  any  way 
intimate.  Whether  remains  of  the  dingo  are  really  found  in  the  Australian 
Post-pliocene  or  not,  probability  is  strongly  in  favour  of  his  having  been  introduced 
by  human  immigrants  ;  and  the  New  Guinea  dog  is  different.  Ethnographical 
objects,  too,  are  not  alike  on  the  two  sides  of  Torres  Straits. 


§   3.  PHYSICAL  QUALITIES  AND   INTELLECTUAL  LIFE  OF 
THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 

Bodily  peculiarities — Racial  marks — Colour — Head — Hair — Albinism — Muscular  strength — Spiritual  Disposi- 
tion— A  race  of  contradictions — Optimistic  critics — Stupidity — Frivolity — Lies  and  Dissimulation — Comedy 
of  King  Finn — Licentiousness — Human  sacrifices,  cannibalism,  and  infanticide — Intellectual  capacity — 
Influence  of  Christianity — Creative  power  of  the  Polynesian  mind — Invention — Mythology — Cosmogony — 
Knowledge  of  geography — Medicine — Reckoning  of  time — Counting — Music  and  dancing — Wrestling  and 
boxing — Games  of  children. 

Among  the  Polynesian  tribes,  distributed  as  they  are  over  a  wide  area  broken  up 
into  numerous  islands,  varying  greatly  in  natural  resources,  and  permeated  by  a 
deeply-rooted  social  organisation,  racial  distinctions  emerge  very  clearly.  It  is 
almost  superfluous  specially  to  emphasise  the  fact  that  in  this  race  too  we  can 
find  no  absolute  unity.  Crossings  have  taken  place,  of  which  we  can  no  longer 
determine  the  individual  elements,  though  doubtless  negroid  constituents  turned 
up  among  them.  But  whatever  may  be  the  history  of  the  Polynesians,  they 
form  a  special  group  of  mankind.  In  close  affinity  with  the  Malay  race  they 
have  a  brown  skin,  with  a  prevailing  tendency  to  light  gradations,  such  as  might 
on  the  average  be  designated  as  olive-brown  ;  though  among  the  Micronesians 
we  find  the  Chinese  yellow,  and  among  the  Samoans  the  light-brown  tint  of 
Southern  Europeans.  The  hair  is  black,  smooth  to  curly.  Finsch  considers 
that  within  these  limits  the  Micronesians  do  not  vary  more  from  the  actual 
Polynesians  than  Swabians  from  North  Germans.  There  are  Polynesian  colonies 
in  the  Micronesian  region,  but  many  Micronesians  come  nearer  to  the  Melanesian 
type. 

Among  the  more  important  bodily  characteristics  we  may  mention  the  pre- 
dominance of  short  skulls,  often  exaggerated  by  artificial  deformation  ;  low,  but 
generally  well-shaped  foreheads,  often  causing  the  facial  angle  to  be  equal  to  that  of 
Europeans  ;  noses  more  often  snub  than  curved  ;  eyes  small,  lively,  usually  placed 
horizontally,  with  remarkably  wide  opening  and  eloquent  expression  ;  cheek  bones 
projecting  forward  rather  than  sideways  ;  and,  lastly,  mouths  well  shaped  in  spite 
of  thick  lips.  In  general  the  lighter  Polynesians,  more  especially  Maoris  and 
Tongans,  resemble  most  the  European  type  even  in  expression  ;  while  the  some- 
what  darker   Micronesians,  as  has    been  said,  approach  the    Melanesian.      The 


1 86 


THE  HISTORY  OF  ^fAI\'K'I^'D 


general  character  is  soft  features  and  pleasing  demeanour.  The  expression 
"  nobly-formed  races,"  is  so  commonly  used  of  the  Polynesians  that  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  point  out  that   it  is   only  their  stature  which   can   be  judged  by  a 


European  standard. 


The  handsomest  woman  of  Samoa,"  says   Hugo  Zoller, 

"  cannot  be  com- 


pared with  any- 
thing more  than 
a  pretty  German 
peasant  girl." 
The  hair  in  its 
finer  texture  and 
tendency  to  form 
waves  or  even 
ringlets,  departs 
from  the  coarse 
straight  Mongol- 
ian form.  The 
best  term  for  it 
is  "  crisp  "  hair. 
Occasionally  wigs 
are  met  with, 
sticking  up  and 
towzled  after  the 
Papuan  fashion. 
The  colour  of  the 
hair  ranges  from 
black  to  chestnut 
brown.  A  lighter 
tinge,  particu- 
larly rusty-brown 
wisps  running 
through  dark 
hair,  and  reddish 
or  yellowish  col- 
oration of  the 
tips,  proceeds 
from  frequent 
bathing  and  pow- 
dering with  lime. 
Albinism  seems 
to  be  rare.     The 

development   of  hair  on   the   face    and   body   is    less   in    straight-haired    than  in 
curly-haired  persons. 

The  bodily  strength  of  the   Polynesians  is  not  very  great ;   the  small  amount 
of  labour  which  many  of  them   perform   hardly  tends   to  a  thorough  development 
of  the  body.      Even   the   most   stalwart-looking   Maoris   possess,  on   the  average 
only  a  fraction   of  an   Englishman's   lifting  power  ;   nor  do  they  excel  in  speed  of 
foot.      Arms  and  legs   run   rather  to  fat  than   to   muscle.      A  notable  corpulence 


Samoan  woman.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album). 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


187 


is  frequent  as  a  result  of  indolence.  The  average  weight  of  the  men  in  the 
Gilbert  Islands  is,  according  to  Finsch,  about  1 2  stone,  the  maximum  a  little 
over  15.  In  stature  the  Polynesians  hold  a  medium  position.  Finsch's  measure- 
ments give  5  feet  1 1  inches  as  the  highest  figure  for  a  man  of  the  Gilbert 
Islands,  and  5  feet  3^  inches  for  a  woman  of  Upolu,  one  of  the  most  powerful 
and  stoutest  of  Polynesian  women.  The  minima  fall  just  below  5  feet.  Long 
ago  G.  Forster  said  of  the  Easter  Islanders,  who  live  under  conditions  calculated 
to  stunt  them  :  "  We  did  not  find  among  them  a  single  man  who  could  be  called 
tall."  In  the  Marshall  Archipelago  the  natives  of  the  more  northerly  islands, 
which  are  less  visited  by  strangers,  and  produce  food  in  greater  abundance,  are 
men   of  a   taller   and   stronger  stamp  ;  while   the  great  majority  of  those  in  the 


Women  of  the  Gilbert  Islands  and  Marshall  Islands.     (Godeffroy  Album. ) 

southern  islands  are  slender  men  who  grow  old  prematurely.  The  more  weakly 
type  tends  to  prevail  ;  possibly  the  indolence  which  shrinks  from  the  exertion  of 
fishing,  and  limits  itself  to  a  vegetable  diet,  may  have  something  to  do  with  this. 
According  to  Finsch  the  Gilbert  Islanders  may  be  indicated  as  the  strongest. 
They  are  distinguished  by  the  rapidity  with  which  they  multiply,  supplying  an 
abundant  emigration.  Racial  differences  are  to  some  extent  involved  in  the 
social  organisation.  The  lighter  people  of  the  upper  classes  are  descended  from 
Japanese,  Chinese,  and  Spaniards  ;  and  tanning  by  the  sun  assuredly  does  not 
alone  account  for  the  darker  tint  of  the  lower  classes.  Ellis  heard  it  said  when 
a  swarthy  man  passed  :  "  How  d^rk  he  is,  he  must  have  good  bones."  Still  the 
darker  complexions  are  not  found  exclusively  in  the  lower  classes,  while  the 
lighter  skin  of  the  aristocracy  admits  of  exceptions  here  and  there. 

The  acuteness  of  their  senses  is  considerable ;  and  this  holds  good  not  merely 
of  their  cleverness  in  finding  lost  objects,  or  seeing  small  birds  in  covert.  An 
inventive  intelligence  is  native  to  them.  The  Polynesian  has  not  the  childish 
naivete  of  the  negro;  but  at  the,  same  time  he  is  not  so  reserved  as  the  Malay 
nor  so  calculating  as  the  Chinese.      If  in  surrender  to  the  impulses  of  their  nature 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


these  are  genuine  "  natural  "  races, 
on  the  other  hand  the  barriers  of 
tradition  are  rigid  and  social  ordin- 
ances manifold  ;  and  although  they 
attack  Nature  and  each  other  with 
primitive  implements  and  weapons, 
they  have  in  other  directions  given 
proof  of  no  narrow  intellectual  en- 
dowment. If  all  "  natural  "  races 
display  something  contradictory  in 
the  proportion  which  their  cultiva- 
tion bears  to  their  endowment,  the 
Polynesians  are  in  truth  a  race  of 
contradictions.  To  Cook  and  his 
companions  the  Tahitians  and  So- 
ciety Islanders  appeared  as  gentle 
and  agreeable  people,  in  many 
respects  to  be  envied,  fortunate, 
like  children  of  an  extremely  happy 
disposition.  Yet  a  century  ago  the 
Tongans  were  still  cannibals.  And 
if  we  turn  over  the  record  of  the 
dealings  of  the  Tahitians  with  white 
men,  we  shall  find  mention  of  their 
meeting   with   Wallis's   expedition ; 

which  they  met   in  quite  a   different  manner,  and   experienced  a   bloody  repulse. 

By  that  time  the  white  men  had 

made    themselves    feared.       In 

cases  where   they  had    not    re- 
ceived  any  lesson  of  this  kind, 

the  natives  appeared  as  regular 

savages.       Cook     was     himself 

partly  to    blame,  by    his    over- 
confidence,   for    his    murder    on 

Hawaii.       A    whole    series    of 

treacherous  attacks   are  known 

to  have  occurred   in  the   small 

exterior    islands,    such    as    the 

Paumotu,  Savage,  and  Penrhyn 

groups  ;  and  the  history  of  New 

Zealand      records      still     more. 

Without    being     savages     after 

the  fashion  of  the  Bushmen  or 

Australians,  the  Polynesians  are 

of  an  untrustworthy  changeable 

character.       The    Micronesians 

for    the    most   part    maintain  a 

timid     attitude;     but     they    are  A  man  of  Rotuma.     (Godeffroy  Album.) 


A  Tongan.      (Godeffroy  Album. ) 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


189 


frequently  few  in  number  confined  to  a  solitary  island,  and  almost  defenceless 
against  strangers. 

Under  great  outward  vivacity  lies  the  dulness  of  the  uncultured  nature. 
Even  among  Christian  Polynesians  one  is  struck  by  the  indifference  with  which 
they  meet  a  disgraceful  death  at  the  hand  of  the  executioner  ;  and  the  tranquillity 
of  children  at  the  death  of  their  parents,  particularly  in  blood-steeped  New  Zealand, 
has  been  remarked.  Human  sacrifices  and  cannibalism  must  have  left  their  traces 
in  the  disposition.  These  evil  qualities  are  cloaked  by  a  childish  levity.  The 
task  of  the  criminal  law  is  materially  lightened  by  their  garrulity  ;  they  cannot 
keep  a  s.ecret,  even  to  save  themselves  from  the  scaffold.     Throughout  Polynesia 


A  man  of  Pelew,  and  a  man  of  Yap  in  the  Carolines.      (Godeffroy  Album. ) 

one  hears  plenty  of  quarrelsome  talk  and  sees  very  little  fighting.  Even  in  serious 
warfare  words  play  an  important  part.  Many  words  are  accompanied  by  many 
falsehoods.  An  entertaining  proof  of  the  art  of  the  Polynesians  in  fiction  is 
afforded  by  the  appearance  of  the  sham  king  Finn  on  Cook's  second  visit  to  the 
Friendly  Islands  in  1777.  In  order  to  carry  through  the  part,  many  others  had 
to  take  as  much  share  in  the  farce  as  he  himself;  and  yet  Cook  was  taken  in  for 
some  days,  and  only  began  to  suspect  when  he  saw  the  impostor  do  obeisance  to 
the  real  king. 

The  Polynesians  show  themselves  quite  open  to  the  requirements  of  an 
industrial  life  in  the  European  sense.  The  sugar-plantations  which  form  the 
chief  wealth  of  Hawaii  are  no  doubt  at  present  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  whites  or 
half-breeds ;  but  King  Kamehameha  III.  rendered  essential  service  in  promoting 
the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane.  The  first  Christians  on  Maui  performed  a 
wonderful  feat  when  they  built  a  church  1 00  feet  in  length ;  carrying  stone,  lime, 
and  sand  on  their  backs,  and  hauling  timber  with  their  hands.     Twice  the  principal 


I  go 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


rafter  gave  way,  and  for  the  third  time  they  put  it  up  again,  nothing  loth.  It  is, 
to  be  sure,  just  the  vaHant,  laborious,  progressive  Polynesians  who  are  decried  by 
Europeans  as  avaricious  and  stubborn.  The  Samoans  and  Tahitians  are  reckoned 
more  serviceable.  The  profound  difference  between  the  dissolute,  idle,  light- 
skinned  inhabitants  of  fertile  Tahiti,  and  the  industrious,  clever,  sober,  muscular 
native  of  the  poorer  Tonga  Islands  is  instructive.  Is  it  not  significant  that  the 
Tongans  escaped  the  corrupt  aristocratic  rule  of  Tahiti  ? 

In  order  to  form  a  fair  judgment  as  to  the  licentiousness  ascribed  to  the 
Polynesians,  we  must  consider  that  their  excesses  were  described  with  much 
exaggeration  by  visitors  who  only  learned  to  know  the  people  superficially. 
Much  of  it  no  doubt  arises  from  their  general  level  of  culture.  Levity  and 
idleness  have  in  some  places  allowed  sexual  irregularity  to  reach  an  incredible 

pitch  of  corruption  among  the  upper  classes  ;  while 
in  New  Zealand,  in  Samoa,  and  especially  in 
Tonga,  women  hold,  on  the  contrary,  a  high 
position. 

Human  sacrifices,  cannibalism  and  traces  of  it, 
also  infanticide,  will  be  dealt  with  in  the  section 
on  society. 

With  the  first  ray  of  light  which  falls  upon 
the  life  of  Polynesia,  together  with  the  opening-up 
of  the  central  regions  of  the  Pacific,  we  get  a 
glimpse  of  a  strong  movement  of  great  value  in 
the  history  of  civilization.  If  indeed  it  be  too 
much  to  assume  that  a  development  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  pure  monotheism  was  making  its  way  in 
their  religion  before  the  arrival  of  Christian  influ- 
ences, we  can,  at  any  rate,  recognise  therein  a  powerful  impulse  towards  the  creation 
of  a  pantheon.  With  a  little  more  space  and  a  little  more  stability,  we  should  have 
found  an  Indian  mythology  in  Polynesia.  Morally  the  Polynesians  did  not  and 
do  not  stand  high  ;  and  yet  their  abandonment  of  cannibalism  and  human  sacrifice 
speaks  a  great  deal  for  their  self-education.  It  is  a  progress  towards  humanity  to 
which  full  justice  has  not  been  done  by  all  critics.  Generally  too  the  Polynesians 
have  shown  a  rare  capacity  for  education ;  quite  apart  from  their  faculty  of 
imitating  European  dress-customs.  Nowhere  else  have  missions  so  soon  attained 
to  the  point  of  sending  out  native  teachers.  For  many  years  whole  groups,  such 
as  Tonga,  Samoa,  Hervey,  have  possessed  a  church  and  a  school  in  every  village, 
with  clergy  and  teachers  of  whom  by  far  the  greater  part  are  natives.  At  the 
same  time  these  communities  soon  became  self-supporting.  The  London  Missionary 
Society  has  for  years  no  longer  had  occasion  to  send  pecuniary  aid  to  Samoa ;  on 
the  contrary,  that  Mission  has  itself  forwarded  material  contributions  for  missionary 
purposes  to  other  districts.  Among  the  most  curious  phenomena  are  the 
independent  offshoots  from  Christianity.  Thus  in  Upolu,  Siovedi,  a  native  of 
Savaii,  founded  the  "  gimblet-religion."  Professing  to  converse  with  God  and  to 
work  miracles,  he  enjoined  a  mutual  confession  of  sins  in  cases  of  sickness  ;  and 
his  divine  service  was  rendered  specially  impressive  by  the  discharge  of  firearms. 
Also  in  Samoa,  a  native,  who  taught  the  invocation  of  the  God  of  Heaven, 
brought  with  him  on  his  return  from  the  whale-fishery  an  old  woman  who  used 


Dressed  skull,  from  the  Marshall  Islands. 
(Godeffroy  Collection). 


THE   POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


IQI 


to  ''  touch "    for   diseases    from    behind    a    curtain,    alleging    that    Christ   resided 
within  her. 

In  all  variations  of  Polynesian  mythology  an  element  of  philosophising 
appears  in  astonishing  luxuriance.  Nowhere  do  we  find  better  confirmation  of 
the  fact  that  at  this  stage  mythology  includes  all  science.  When,  as  in  the 
Society  Islands,  we  find  the  creation  of  spiritual  forces  following  immediately 
upon  the  emerging  of  Ru  from  the  side  of  his  mother  Papa,  we 
are  in  the  region  of  abstractions.  Not  till  then  is  the  material 
world  created  by  the  union  of  Tangaroa  with  the  various  forces 
of  Nature.  We  get  the  impression  of  natural  science  in  embryo 
when  Tangaroa  produces,  with  the  goddess  of  the  external  world, 
clouds  and  rain  ;  with  the  goddess  of  the  inner  world,  the  germs 
of  movement ;  with  the  air,  the  rainbow,  the  light,  the  moon  ; 
and  with  a  goddess  dwelling  in  the  earth,  volcanic  fire.  This 
structure  of  ideas,  the  creation  of '  thoughtful  minds,  was  not 
adapted  for  wider  extension,  and  therefore  the  universal  myth- 
ology of  Polynesia  could  not  accommodate  itself  to  the  analysis 
of  its  simple  cosmogony,  which  made  the  world  result  from  the 
embrace  of  heaven  and  earth,  into  these  abstract  conceptions. 
But  in  the  great  simple  images  of  the  sea,  the  islands,  the  earth 
as  a  fixed  island  or  floating  in  the  sea,  in  their  need  of  orienta- 
tion by  the  aid  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  the  Polynesians  found 
an  inducement  to  observe  the  heavenly  phenomena  more  keenly, 
and  to  form  cosmogonic  imaginations.  Their  conception  of  the 
world,  to  the  formation  of  which  fancy  has  contributed  more 
than  understanding,  is  yet  based  upon  a  mass  of  observations. 
The  moon  is  a  woman,  with  an  indwelling  capacity  for  renewal. 
The  man  in  the  moon  is  Rona,  who  stumbled  as  he  went  about 
at  night  and  was  taken  up  by  the  moon  with  the  branch  of  the 
tree  to  which  he  tried  to  hold.  Both  sun  and  moon  renew  their 
youth  in  the  spring  of  the  water  of  life.  While  the  moon  and 
stars  are  in  a  heaven  nearer  the  earth,  namely  the  third,  the  sun 
shines  only  from  the  fifth  ;  else  he  would  burn  up  everything. 
Sun  and  moon  once  lived  together  and  produced  the  dry  land  Bamboo  flutes  from 
of  the   earth.      And  while   the  sun  is  on  one  side   made  fast  to      Hawaii.      (British 

.  ....  ,     ,        .  Museum. ) 

the  moon  by  Maui,  on  the  other  it  is  bound  to  the  earth  by  its 
own  beams.  From  this  twofold  attachment  also  eclipses  arise.  The  stars  were 
created  by  the  ancestors  of  the  present  Polynesian  race.  As  the  population  of 
heaven  they  are  divided  into  two  parts,  between  which  the  Milky  Way,  or  "  great 
shark,"  forms  the  boundary.  The  shooting-stars  are  the  means  by  which  they 
send  messages  to  their  former  creators.  Among  the  constellations  Orion  with  the 
Southern  Cross  and  the  neighbouring  stars  as  "  Tamarereti's  Canoe,''  and  the 
Pleiads,  under  the  name  of  "  the  bowsprit  of  the  canoe,"  enjoy  special  consideration. 
In  the  rainbow  they  see  also  the  bow,  or  the  gleaming  bowstring,  or  the  ladder 
whereby  the  souls  of  chiefs  ascend  to  heaven. 

The  frequent  migrations  of  the  Polynesians  from  one  island  to  another  led 
in  course  of  time  to  the  acquirement  of  a  certain  stock  of  knowledge.  The 
talented  Tupaia  drew  for  Cook  a  kind  of  map  on  which  numerous  islands  of 


rs? 


192 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Polynesia  were  marked.  The  names  were  found  to  be  pretty  correct,  but  not 
the  position  and  size.  Intelligent  people  were  fairly  well  informed  about  neigh- 
bouring islands  ;  they  distinguished  the  low  or  coral  islands  from  the  ofty  or 
volcanic,  and  knew  whether  they  were  permanently  or  only  occasionally  inhabited, 
and  the  like.  The  brother  of  the  chief  of  Raraka  drew  with  chalk  on  the  deck 
of  Wilkes's  vessel  all  the  islands  of  Paumotu  that  he  knew,  and  named  three, 
which  were  actually  discovered  later. 

What  the  Polynesians  knew  rested  on  a  great  persistency  of  tradition.      iheir 

stock  of  culture  shows  of  how  much  a 
talented  race,  without  writing,  and  we 
may  add,  in  its  stone  age,  is  capable. 
Mythology,  historical  tradition,  and 
star-lore,  are  taught  together  by  special 
persons,  and  a  little  medicine  besides. 
Part  of  this  is  kept  secret.  Genealogies 
are  taught  at  night  to  promising  boys. 
On  the  memorial  tablets  they  find  the 
important  names  in  the  notches,  dis- 
:  tinguished  by  special  ornamentation. 
When  they  become  priests  they  recog- 
nise each  other  by  secret  passwords. 
The  traditional  hymns  which  are  re- 
cited at  purificatory  festivals  are  in  the 
keeping  of  the  priests.  Besides  the 
sacred,  there  is  also  a  profane  tradition, 
the  depositaries  of  which  are  often 
curiously  enough  in  the  lowest  ranks  of 
society.  To  them  are  entrusted  his- 
torical memories,  the  lays  of  the  heroes, 
the  myths  which  have  become  old  wives' 
fables.  Among  the  priests  a  kind  of 
medical  science  had  developed  itself, 
the  sound  principles  of  which  were 
smothered  under  the  hocus-pocus  of 
The  Tahitian  places  the  seat  of  life  and  natural  dis- 
the  belly,  and  uses  the  term  "  bowels "  to  denote  what  we  express 
On  the  other  hand  the  head  is  as  with  us  the  seat  of  the  human 


Dancing  stilts,  from  the  Marquesas. 
Ethnographical  Museum. ) 


Munich 


supernatural   commerce. 

position   in 

by  "  heart." 

thinking  faculty,  and  for  this  reason  receives  special  veneration,  which  to  be  sure 

has  a  cannibal   tinge.      Among  the  more  rational    modes   of  treating   the  sick, 

"  massage  "  has  the  fifst  place.      Among   medical  apparatus  we  find  bottle-gourds 

for  administering  injections,  and  the  claws  of  a  Squilla  for  puncturing  pustules. 

The  Polynesian  language  possesses  numerals  to  denominate  the  thousands. 
Lehu,  •'  ashes,"  indicates  the  limit  of  the  numerable.  As  a  rule  the  system  is 
naturally  that  of  division  into  fives  and  tens  ;  but  Tou-Fa,  that  is  "  four-reckoning  " 
forms  in  the  Marquesas  and  Hawaii  a  scale  with  forty  as  its  peculiar  unit.  In 
Hawaii,  Ule,  Pelew,  and  elsewhere,  they  used,  to  facilitate  counting,  a  system 
which  was  also  highly  elaborated  in  Peru,  of  tying  knots  in  string.  The  Tahitians 
tied  strips  of  coco-palm  leaf  in  bundles  ;  the  New  Zealanders  used  notched  sticks. 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


193 


Time  is  reckoned  by  lunar  months. 
In  Tahiti  there  were  fourteen  of  these, 
two  of  which  Forster  regarded  as 
intercalary.  The  names  of  the  m.onths 
in  many  cases  are  referable  to  agricul- 
ture and  the  phenomena  of  vegetable 
life.  In  New  Zealand  we  find  thirteen 
months,  and  the  tenth  reckoned  twice 
over.  The  names  of  the  months  and 
the  first  day  of  the  year  vary  from 
one    island    to    another,    and    besides 


I.   Paddles  used  at  dances,  from  Easter  Island — one-thirteenth  real  size  (Berlin  Museum  of  Ethnology), 
ii.   Bamboo  dancing-stilts,  from  the  Marquesas — one-tenth  real  size  (Christy  Collection). 

O 


194  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


that,  traces  remain  of  another  system  of  chronology  dividing  the  year  mto 
two  parts  with  the  disappearance  and  reappearance  of  the  Pleiads,  thus 
reckoning  six  months  only.  Thus  in  a  number  of  islands  New  Year's  day  falls 
at  the  southern  winter  solstice.  Besides  this,  they  reckon  by  generations ;  and 
this  reckoning  goes  back  twenty-nine  generations  in  Rarotonga,  twenty-seven  in 
Mangareva,  amounting  to  a  handsome  tale  of  centuries,  but  of  course  starting 
from  mythical  times. 

Song  and  dance  occupy  a  large  part  of  the  life  of  the  dwellers  in  the  fortunate 
isles  of  the  tropic  zone.  The  Maoris,  too,  sing  on  every  occasion  ;  at  work,  in 
dancing,  in  rowing,  at  their  sports,  or  when  marching  to  war.  They  especially 
like  amoebean  songs,  in  which  choruses  alternate  with  individual  chants.  But 
the  character  of  their  songs  is  not  cheerful,  however  cheerful  may  be  the  mood 
which  inspires  them  ;  rather  are  they  solemn.  The  Polynesians  have  a  decided 
sense  for  rhythm  and  even  for  rhyme.  At  the  more  important  performances, 
monologues,  dialogues,  even  the  rudiment  of  a  drama,  often  consisting  in  the 
mimic  representation  of  a  quarrel,  ending  in  blows,  are  put  on  the  stage  between 
pas  seuls.  On  these  occasions  dancing-wands  or  dancing-stilts,  often  finely  carved, 
are  in  use.  Cook's  companion,  Anderson,  describes  a  musical  entertainment  in 
Tonga  as  follows :  "  Eighteen  men  sat  in  the  ring  of  spectators,  four  or  five 
having  bamboo-tubes  closed  at  the  lower  end.  These  they  steadily  struck  almost 
vertically  on  the  ground  in  slow  time  ;  muffled  notes,  varying  according  to  the 
length  of  the  tube,  being  given  out.  Another  musician  produced  clear  tones  by 
striking  with  two  sticks  a  long  split  bamboo  which  lay  on  the  ground  in  front  of 
him.  The  rest  sang  a  soft  air,  so  much  mellowed  by  the  rougher  tones  of  the  simple 
instruments  that  no  one  could  help  recognising  the  power  and  pleasing  melodious- 
ness of  the  music."  On  other  occasions  hollow  tree-stems  are  beaten  like  drums 
with  two  sticks.  Of  all  the  manifold  European  instruments  the  drum  was  the 
only  instrument  of  which  the  Tongans  would  take  any  notice  ;  and  this  they 
thought  inferior  to  their  own.  Micronesian  drums  are  distinguished  for  their 
marked  hour-glass  shape.  Particular  drums  are  used  in  divine  service,  and 
are  regarded  as  sacred.  Bamboo  flutes  and  shell  trumpets  are  everywhere 
common. 

Among  the  dances  are  also  included  the  war  and  weapon  games,  and  the 
favourite  wrestling  and  boxing  contests.  In  Hawaii,  when  Cook  was  there,  even 
the  girls  took  part  in  these.  The  Polynesians  have  a  great  liking  for  games.^ 
One  of  their  games  is  very  like  our  draughts,  but  appears  to  be  more  complicated, 
since  the  board  has  238  squares,  divided  into  rows  of  fourteen.  Another 
consists  in  hiding  a  stone  in  a  piece  of  cloth,  and  trying  to  find  it  by  hitting 
with  a  stick  ;  in  this  game  the  betting  is  the  important  point.  Ball-games  are 
very  popular.  In  the  Hawaiian  game  called  Lala,  a  wheel-shaped  stone  {Maika), 
is  thrown  as  far  as  possible  ;  and  players  stake  all  their  property,  their  wives  and 
children,  their  arm  and  leg  bones  (after  their  death),  and  at  last  even  their 
own  persons  on  one  throw.  Another  pastime  is  racing  between  boys  and 
girls.  Swimming  in  the  surf  with  the  help  of  a  board  or  spar  is  also  in 
some    measure    a    game    of   chance ;     it    is    played,    especially    in    Hawaii,    by 

'  [Mr.  Stevenson  mentions  somewhere  that  cricket-matches  in  Samoa  used  to  be  played  by  whole  villages, 
some  hundreds  on  a  side,  and  to  last  for  weeks.  At  length  the  waste  of  time  and  cost  of  entertaining  the 
"  visitors"  reached  such  a  pitch  that  the  chiefs  had  to  interfere.] 


Printed  "by  the  BibliograpMsches  InsUtut.  leijzig-. 

PATTERN    OF    POLYNESIAN  TAPA. 

(From  Cook's  coUECtioiL  ia  the  ethnograpliical  Museum,  "Vleima.,) 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS  i95 

both  sexes  with  much  dexterity  and  pluck.  Little  boats  are  a  frequent  toy 
of  children  ;  who  also,  like  their  elders,  are  fond  of  ball -play.  The  young 
New  Zealanders  have  a  special  predilection  for  flying  kites.  Another  game 
of  theirs  is  to  throw  up  a  ball  made  of  leaves  bound  together,  and  catch 
it  on  a  stick  sharpened  at  both  ends.  Besides  these,  games  with  the  fingers, 
like  the  Italian  morra,  are  very  common  ;  and  the  players  are  extremely  clever 
at  them. 


§  4.  DRESS,  WEAPONS,  AND   IMPLEMENTS  OF  POLYNESIANS 

AND  MICRONESIANS 

Dress  and  ornament — Tattooing — Deformations  of  the  body — Feather  ornaments — Modes  of  wearing  the  hair 
— Objects  used  for  ornament — Bark  cloth — Tapa — Mats — Weapons  and  implements — Lack  of  iron — 
Working  in  stone — Manufacture  of  weapons  from  wood — Spears — Clubs — Limits  of  diffusion  of  bow  and 
arrow — Slings —  Industrial  activity. 

The  stage  of  culture  which  the  Polynesians  have  reached  is  very  clearly 
expressed  in  their  external  appearance  ;  that  is,  in  their  dress,  their  ornaments, 
their  equipment.  Living  under  a  fortunate  sky,  and  surrounded  with  water, 
both  Polynesians  and  Micronesians  bathe  often,  and  are,  therefore,  a  cleanly 
race.  Unluckily  they  frequently  destroy  the  effect  of  this  virtue  by  excessive 
anointing  of  themselves  with  coco-palm  oil  or  chewed  coco -nut.  They  prefer 
fresh  water  to  salt  for  bathing,  and  regard  both  as  a  good  remedy  against 
illness.  Women  with  their  newly -born  infants,  and  even  people  in  mortal 
sickness,  will  bathe. 

Artificial  mutilations  and  embellishments  of  the  person  are  widely  spread. 
Deformation  of  the  skull,  both  by  flattening  it  behind  and  elongating  it  towards 
the  vertex,  is  found  in  isolated  instances  in  Tahiti,  Samoa,  Hawaii,  and  the 
Paumotu  group,  but  occurs  nowhere  with  such  frequency  as  on  Mallicollo  in  the 
New  Hebrides,  where  the  skull  is  squeezed  extraordinarily  flat.  Flattening  of 
the  nose  is  practised  in  Tahiti  and  among  the  Yap  Islanders  ;  and  the  nasal 
septum  is  often  bored  to  allow  of  the  insertion  of  flowers  or  feathers.  The  ears 
are  bored,  and  bits  of  greenstone,  teeth  of  men  and  sharks,  feathers  and  flowers, 
stuck  in  for  ornament.  On  Easter  Island,  as  in  Micronesia,  the  ear-lobes  are 
dragged  into  flaps  by  heavy  wooden  plugs.  The  Micronesians  also  bore  the  rim 
of  the  ear  in  various  ways. 

Tattooing  nowhere  reaches  such  perfection  as  in  these  regions.  In  Polynesia 
the  men  are  in  general  more  tattooed  than  the  women  ;  but  in  some  places  both 
sexes  are  alike,  and  on  Nukuor  the  women  only  are  thus  adorned.  The  custom 
of  tattooing  the  face  was  not  in  use  among  all  Polynesians,  particularly  not  in 
Rarotonga  ;  though  universal  among  the  Maoris,  with  whom  the  Rarotongans 
were  brought  into  the  closest  contact.  The  special  forms  of  tattooing  intended  to 
excite  fear  seem  to  have  left  off  since  the  introduction  of  European  modes  of 
fighting.  Another  advantage  claimed  for  tattooing  is  that  it  obliterates  differences 
of  age.  Lastly  the  embellishment  resulting  from  it  must  not  be  forgotten  ;  as  the 
tattooer's  song  says  : 


196 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


.  .  .  Every  line  be  duly  drawn. 

On  the  man  who's  rich  and  great 

Shape  your  figures  fair  and  straight ; 

On  the  man  who  cannot  pay 

Make  them  crooked,  coarse,  and  spla)'. 

Here,  as  with   other   Polynesians,  tattooing  is  no  doubt  founded  upon,  and 
proceeds  from,  some  religious  idea.      It  is  regarded  as  a  sacred  profession,  which 


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Tattooed  Maoris.      (From  a  photograph  in  the  possession  of  Herr  Max  Buchner. ) 


is  exercised  by  the  priest  to  the  accompaniment  of  prayers  and  hymns.  The 
figures  depicted  are  often  those  of  sacred  animals  like  snakes  and  lizards.  In 
Samoa  it  is  based  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Aiua  or  tutelary  spirit  in  beast  shape  ; 
which  was  why  the  missionaries  found  it  so  hard  to  put  an  end  to  the  practice. 
In  the  Micronesian  region  tattooing  has  become  to  a  great  extent  a  pure  matter 
of  decoration,  but  not  everywhere.  On  Nukuor  the  women  live  for  three  months 
secluded  in  the  sacred  house,  and  bathe  in  the  sea  before  undergoing  the  operation,, 
which  extends  only  to  a  small  portion  of  the  lower  part  of  the  body.  In  the 
Radack  group  the  patient  spends  the  previous  night  in  the  house  of  the  chief,. 
who  prays  for  favourable  tokens.  In  the  Society  and  Paumotu  Islands,  the 
Marquesas,  the  Carolines,  differences  are  made  according  to  rank  ;  the  common 
people  being  tattooed  on  the  loins  only,  whilst  the  Ern  or  Art'h'  are  distinguished 
by  large  circular  markings  over  the  whole  body.  In  the  Gilbert  Islands  a  poor 
man  who  is  tattooed  enjoys  more  influence  in  the  general  council  than  a  rich  man 
whose  surface  is  blank.     On  Rotuma  caste-distinctions  are  indicated  by  tattooing.. 


THE   POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


197 


Yet  the  chief's  rank  is  not  always  thus  expressed  ;  many  chiefs  are  but  slightly 
tattooed,  while  ordinary  citizens  show  this  ornament  all  over  their  persons.  In 
the  Marshall  Islands  the  right  of  tattooing  the  cheeks  is  reserved  to  the  chiefs, 
while  on  Mortlock  Island  differences  of  rank  are  shown  in  the  decoration  of  the 
legs.  The  two  sides  of  the  body  are  often  unsymmetrical,  and  in  this  case  the 
right  side  receives  the  more  elaborate  treatment.  The  Samoans  select  for  tattooing 
exactly  the  region  which  we  cover  with  bathing-drawers  ;  the  effect  produced 
being  that  of  a  striped  and  spotted  cloth  wrapped  about  them.  Among  the 
Maoris  it  took  years  before  the  body  was  ornamented  up  to  the  design  conceived 
in  ^;he  artist's  fancy  ;  but  with  them  the  traits  of  the  face 
are  literally  dissolved  in  arabesques.  The  operation,  as 
applied  to  lips,  eyelids,  and  nose,  was  painful,  especially 
before  the  introduction  of  iron  ;  in  the  Hervey  Islands, 
Forster  saw  even  tenderer  portions  of  the  frame  sedu- 
lously tattooed.  The  method  is  in  this  wise.  The  figure 
is  drawn  where  required  ;  then  a  little  stick,  pointed 
with  stone,  bone  (human  bone  for  choice),  or  iron,  is 
tapped  with  a  wooden  mallet  so  as  to  form  a  series  of 
punctures  along  the  lines.  The  tattooing  tools  consist 
of  an  instrument  something  like  a  little  hoe,  made  of 
hard  wood — four  shapes  occur  in  Samoa — the  flat  blade 
of  which  terminates  in  a  number  of  sharp  teeth,  and  a 
little  mallet  made  of  the  same  wood  and  shaped  like  a 
paddle,  which  serves  to  drive  it  in.  For  colouring,  the 
Maoris  use  the  soot  of  kaiiri-'^me.  wood. 

Besides  this,  in  time  of  mourning  the  skin  of  the 
face,  arms,  and  legs  has  to  undergo  cutting  with  sharp 
shells,  while  at  festivities  it  was  usual  to  colour  it  with 
red  and  black  paint.  Thus  when  Cook  visited  Easter 
Island  the  women  had  painted  their  faces  with  ruddle, 
some   also  with  the  yellow  dye  of  the  turmeric  ;  others 

whitening  them  with  cross-streaks  of  lime.  Herewith  we  may  reckon  the  fact 
that  in  accordance  with  the  proverb  "  No  wife  for  a  hairy  man,"  every  vestige 
of  hair  is  removed  from  the  face  ;  though  it  is  otherwise  in  Micronesia.  In  other 
parts  of  the  body  the  hair  is  extracted  with  tweezers  made  of  mussel-shell. 
Circumcision  in  a  modified  form  is  very  common  ;  though  over  large  regions  such 
as  Hawaii  and  New  Zealand  it  is  not  practised,  and  elsewhere,  as  in  the  Marquesas, 
is  not  universal.  This  operation  also  is  of  a  religious  character,  and  is  performed 
by  the  priests. 

The  mode  of  wearing  the  hair  is  suited  to  its  stiff  growth,  and  is  simple 
accordingly.  It  is  either  worn  unfastened  and  falling,  or  is  cut  off.  The  latter 
course  seems,  in  the  Society  Islands  and  their  neighbourhood,  to  have  been 
enjoined  upon  all  women  except  those  of  the  royal  family.  In  the  Friendly 
Islands  men  and  women  wear  the  hair  cut  short  and  combed  upwards  in  bristles. 
By  powdering  with  lime  the  tips  are  reddened,  while  turmeric  gives  a  golden  gloss. 
The  fashion  of  wearing  the  hair  tied  in  a  top-knot  may  perhaps  be  an  imitation  : 
on  the  very  first  day  of  Cook's  visit  a  Tahitian  chief  copied  his  bag-wig.  With 
the  imperfect  cutting-tools  at  their  disposal,  the  shaving  of  the  head  was  no  light 


Tattooing  instruments  from  the 
Friendly  Islands  —  one  -  third 
real  size.     (British  Museum). 


igS 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


matter  ;  and  there  were  few  among  the  achievements  of  civilization  which  the 
Polynesians  had  cause  to  prize  so  highly  as  scissors  and  razors.  In  Micronesia 
the  head-ornament  consists  almost  everywhere  of  a  long  narrow  wooden  comb, 
with  ten  or  twelve  teeth,  decorated  about  the  handle,  and  at  times  furnished  with 
a  rich  feather-ornament.     The  long  hairpins  serve  also  to  allay  the  irritation  of 

frequent  insect-bites.  The 
curly  hair  of  the  Gilbert 
Islanders  is  frizzed  up  with 
a  stick  till  it  stands  out  in 
a  crown.  On  Mortlock 
Island  the  head -ring  is 
covered  with  iibres  after 
the  manner  of  a  brush ; 
while  on  Nukuor  the  head- 
dress is  formed  of  a  long 
plate  of  wood,  broadening 
towards  the  top.  This  sort 
of  thing,  however,  must  no 
doubt  be  regarded  as  a 
dance -ornament  or  a  reli- 
gious emblem.  The  ances- 
tral statues  often  carry  a 
similar  adornment.  Actual 
head-coverings  are  not  usual, 
or  are  permitted  only  at 
night,  or  out  of  the  country. 
In  the  Carolines,  as  formerly 
in  Hawaii,  European  hats 
are  directly  imitated.  On 
Fakaafo  in  the  Tokelau 
Islands,  Hale  saw  boat- 
men wearing  eye -shades 
of  closely- plaited  material 
bound  on  to  their  foreheads, 
just  as  weak-sighted  people 

A  man  of  Ponap^  in  the  Carolines.     (From  a  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  ^^^^      ^'^ .^'^      "^-    . 

Album.)  As    With    tattoomg,   SO 

,      ,  feather    ornaments    extend 

back  from  the  domain  of  secular  fashion  to  that  of  religion.  Birds  are  among 
the  sacred  animals,  and  this  is  especially  the  case  with  that  bird  which  in  its  red 
tai  -feathers  affords  the  article  most  sought  for  ornamental  purposes  among  the 
Polynesians,  the  Tropic-bird  {Phaethon).  At  one  time  no  article  of  commerce  was 
in  such  demand  in  the  Society  Islands.  The  feathers  were  stuck  on  to  banana- 
leaves,  which  were  bound  on  the  forehead  ;  and  even  on  the  coco-nut  fibre  aprons 
of  the  dancing-girls.  The  most  valuable  head-dresses  were  made  of  feathers. 
Other  objects  of  wide  distribution  were  the  supple  necklaces  of  twisted  string, 
in  which  coloured  feathers  were  twined.  In  the  Marquesas  and  on  Easter 
Island  feather-diadems   were   also   worn.       But  it  was  in    Hawaii  that   feather- 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS  199 

ornament  reached  its  greatest  development  and  its  highest  value.  The  feathers 
of  Melithreptes  Pacifica  were  luxuries  which  forty  years  ago  were  permitted  only 
to  the  most  distinguished  people.  Helmet-shaped  head-dresses  were  decorated 
with  yellow  feathers,  quite  reminding  one  in  their  shape  and  colour  of  the  head- 
gear worn  by  Buddhist  priests. 

Trifles  of  the  most  various  kind  find  employment  for  decorative  purposes.  In 
its  shells  of  many  colours  the  sea  provides  copious  material.  Flowers  and  tendrils 
are  worn  in  tasteful  style  round  the  neck,  in  the  hair,  in  the  ears,  even  in  the 
nose.  Knotted  strings  oi  pandanus-\e.z.i  or  coco-nut  fibre  serve  not  only  for  purposes 
of  divination,  but,  as  on  Ule,  for  the  reckoning  of  time ;  and  many  chiefs  wear 
them  for  that  purpose  round  their  necks.  Or  are  we  to  see  in  this  a  kind  of 
record  of  memoranda  {Dui)  such  as  the  chiefs 
carry  in  Pelew  ?  To  these  superstition  adds 
shells  and  bones  of  particular  shape,  human 
bones,  human  teeth  ;  even  millipedes  are  strung 
together  for  necklaces.  Pendants  of  birds' 
bones  and  ear-ornaments  of  albatross-skin  were 
favourite  modes  of  adornment  with  the  New 
Zealanders.  On  Tongatabu  the  natives  used 
as  ornaments  the  iron  nails  which  Cook  had 
brought  for  trade-purposes  ;  one  nail  was  the 
price  of  a  hen.  In  Tonga  chains  were  made 
of  long  thin  leg -bones,  alternating  with  small 
brown  snail-shells,  and  from  them  hung  a  large 
mother-of-pearl  shell.     Single  teeth,  birds  carved 

from  sperm-whales'  teeth,  black  and  white  beads      Breastplate   of  mother-of-pearl  set   in   iron. 

.  and  with  sling  of  human  hair — one-fourth 

made  from  shells,  are  also  hung  round  the  neck.        real  size.    (Christy  Collection. ) 
Combs  made  of  the  stalks  of  plants,  bound  close 

and  evenly  round  the  upper  end  with  finely-plaited  fibres  are  among  the  most 
beautiful  productions  of  Tongan  art.  In  Hawaii  the  ornaments  are  either  for 
the  feet,  thickly  set  with  dogs'  teeth,  snail-shells,  or  beans,  or  else  armlets  made 
of  carved  pieces  of  bone  or  tortoise-shell,  all  of  one  size,  fastened  into  a  flexible 
whole  by  doubled  threads  passed  through  them.  Similar  strings  with  closely- 
ranged  disks  of  shell,  divided  by  smaller  disks  of  a  black  nutshell,  are  used  as 
money  and  also  occur  as  foot  and  arm  ornaments. 

In  Micronesia  also  garlands  of  fresh  flowers,  red  and  yellow,  play  an  important 
part  in  feminine  adornment.  A  shell,  a  circular  piece  of  mother-of-pearl  or 
tortoiseshell,  little  polished  disks  of  Conus  shell,  all  strung  on  a  thread  of  human 
hair,  form  the  favourite  gaud  of  the  Gilbert  and  Marshall  Islanders.  On  Pingelap 
bits  of  red  Spondylus  shell  are  liked  for  necklaces  ;  elbow-rings  of  Conus  and 
Nautilus  shells  are  worn  on  Yap. 

A  Polynesian  with  all  his  jewellery  upon  him  gives  the  impression  of  being 
overlaid  with  varied  hues.  But  the  taste  for  colour,  in  the  absence  of  staring 
mineral  pigments,  was  formerly  much  better  developed  than  it  is  now  that 
European  traders  have  taken  to  dressing  these  people  in  their  stuffs  at  so  much 
a  yard.  Both  sexes  among  the  Polynesians  are  graceful ;  nor  is  coquetry 
unknown.  On  Sundays  the  Samoan  women  put  on  a  long  and  ample  chemise- 
like garment,  always  of  a  bright  colour,  which  suits  them  charmingly.     When 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


they  go  to  church  they  add  a  tiny  straw-hat,  decked  with  flowers  and  ribbons  of 
many  colours,  stuck  as  much  as  possible  on  the  side  of  the  head.      For  dancing, 


i.   Woman  of  Ponap^.     2.   Woman  of  the  Paumotu  Islands  (From  photograph  in  the  Godeffroy  Album). 
3.   Women  of  the  Society  Islands  (From  photograph  in  the  Dammara  Album). 

masks  are  worn  ;  also  a  peculiar  ear-ornament,  and  skirts  of  leaves  so  dry  that 
as  they  move   to  the  tune  a   rustling   sound    arises.     Red   paint   is   also   freely 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


employed,  and  they  carry  paddle-shaped  dancing-wands.  The  Polynesians  belong 
to  the  better-clad  I'aces ;  they  have  advanced  far  beyond  the  point  of  mere  covering 
and  gone  in  the  direction  of  luxury.  For  this  reason  their  bark  stuffs,  tapa  3ir\d  gnaiu, 
and  their  mats  form  the  largest  and  most  valuable  part  of  their  property ;  in  some 
districts  mats  are  a  recognised  form  of  currency.  In  many  cases  a  skirt  is  worn 
girt  about  the  waist  and  falling  to  the  feet ;  the  Tahitian  women  used  to  wear  a 
cloth  over  their  shoulders  with  an  opening  for  the  head  in  the  middle,  and,  in 
addition,  a  skirt  made  of  finer  stuff.  Both  sexes  wore  another  cloth  wound  turban 
fashion  round  the  head.  In  the  Friendly  Islands  the  dress  was  simpler ;  the 
skirt  of  the  men  was  twisted  up  in  a  great  bunch  behind  often  very  short ;  that 
of  the  women  tied  below  the 
breast,  and  as  a  rule  not  ac- 
companied by  the  cape.  Simi- 
larly in  Samoa  and  the  neigh- 
bouring islands  the  dress  of 
men  and  women  consists  of  a 
piece  of  cotton  cloth  wound 
round  the  hips  and  reaching  to 
the  knee  ;  leaves  are  frequently 
employed  for  the  same  purpose. 
In  wet  weather  the  bark  cloth 
is  often  replaced  by  a  mantle 
of  long  broad  leaves  which 
hang  down  in  a  fringe ;  on 
solemn  and  festive  occasions 
the  natives  put  on  a  fine  mat 
of  plaited  fibre.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  the  eastward  islands 
are  scantily  clothed.  The 
Easter  Islanders,  when  first 
seen  by  Forster,  were  either 
quite  naked  or  with  an  inade- 
quate apron  hanging  from  the 
girdle.     In  the  Society  Islands, 

on    the   contrary,  the   luxury   of     Samoan  lady  with  hair  dressed  high.      (From  the  Godeffroy  Album. ) 

clothing  acquires  a  symbolical 

significance.  The  war-clothes  there  consist  of  three  poncho-like  garments  put  on 
one  over  another :  the  undermost  a  long  white  one,  over  that  a  red,  and  outside 
all  a  short  brown  one.  A  dense  envelopment  of  the  whole  body  in  as  many 
cloths  as  possible  stands  for  a  sign  of  a  peaceful  reception.  In  the  time  of 
Cook  and  Forster  the  Tahitian  dancing-girls  wore  a  piece  of  brown  stuff  closely 
wrapped  round  the  breast.  About  the  hips  was  a  pad  of  four  layers  of  cloth, 
one  upon  another,  alternately  red  and  white,  bound  close  with  a  cord  whence  a 
mass  of  white  cloth  hung  to  the  feet.  The  dress  of  the  New  Zealanders  consisted 
of  skirt  and  mats  ;  these  were  fastened  on  the  right  shoulder  in  men,  on  the  left 
in  women,  the  men  wearing  in'  addition  a  flax  belt  from  which  hung  the  mere  and 
battle-axe.  Head  and  feet  remained  a?  a  rule  uncovered,  though  some  tribes 
on   the  middle  island  had  flax  sandals.     What  the  axe  of  greenstone  is  as  a 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


production  of  male  industry,  the  mat  is  in  the  case  of  the  women.  From  flax 
alone  they  prepared  twelve  different  mats.  Besides  this,  rugs  were  made  of,  or 
trimmed  with,  the  skins  of  dogs  and  birds.  The  only  distinction  of  rank,  other 
than    tattooing,  was    shown   by  the    mats.      Every  tribe   had   at  one   time  some 


Man  of  the  Ruk  Islands.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album. ) 

special   pattern  of  these,  the  differences   consisting  in  the  preparation  of  the  fibre 
and  in  the  ornamentation. 

The  clothing  of  the  Micronesians  is  less  copious.  In  the  northern  Pelew 
Islands  we  find  men  going  quite  naked.  On  Nukuor  any  clothing  beyond  the 
absolute  requirements  of  decency  is  allowed  only  at  night  and  outside  the  reef. 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


203 


The  Mortlock  and  Ruk  Islanders  are  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale  with  their 
poncho-like  mantles  woven  of  musa  and  hibiscus  fibres  and  having  the  hole  for 
the  head  bordered  with  shell  ornament.  On  the  other  hand,  on  Ruk  the  boys 
do  not  obtain  the  mantle  and  therewith  the  privileges  of  male  society  until  a  later 
age  than  that  at  which  the  girls  are  clothed  with  the  apron.  Here  the  list  of 
a  chiefs  wardrobe  consists  of  mantle,  belt,  ear-ornaments,  and  rings  of  nutshell, 
two  necklaces,  armlets,  and  breast- 
ornament.  A  Caroline  Islander  of 
the  old  style  wears  in  the  first  place 
a  shirt  made  out  of  narrow  strips  of 
coco-palm  leaves  reaching  almost 
to  the  knee,  over  which  the  men  on 
festive  occasions  put  a  second  of  a 
pretty  yellow  colour,  broad  in  the 
fibre  and  longer.  Sometimes  Caro- 
line Islanders  who  have  become 
Europeanised,  continue  to  wear  the 
skirt  under  their  shirts.  Besides 
this  it  was  formerly  the  custom  with 
both  sexes  to  wear  a  belt  supporting 
a  band  made  of  banana  fibres  gaily 
coloured  which  passed  between  the 
legs.  Among  the  inhabitants  of 
Kushai  this  formed  the  only  clothing. 
This  product  of  Caroline  industry 
was  woven  on  a  machine  in  which 
the  weft  was  contrived  by  a  laborious 
knotting  together  of  various  coloured 
threads,  while  partly  the  same  threads, 
partly  also  red  woollen  yarn,  were 
employed  for  the  warp.  On  the 
Mortlock  and  Ruk  Islands  broader 
girdles  of  i  5  to  25  strings  were  worn, 
with  little  disks  of  nutshell  arranged 
on  them.  According  to  Kubary's 
reckoning,  not  less  than  12,500  of 
these  were  required  for  a  girdle  of 
twenty  strings,  so  that  among  these 
islanders  the  girdle  is  among  the 
most  highly-prized  articles  of  clothing. 


Combs  from  Tonga — one-fourth  real  size.     (British  Museum.) 


Bone  comb  from  New  Zealand — one-third  real  size. 
(British  Museum.) 


Equally  valuable  used  to  be  the  girdles  made  only  to  order  by  the  people  of 
Pelew,  from  opercula  of  a  rare  tridacna  shell,  and  the  chains  known  as  klilt, 
made  of  sixty-four  tortoiseshell  plates. 

While  the  men  have  often  remained  faithful  to  tradition,  the  dress  of  the 
women  has  been  altered  much  more  owing  to  the  intercourse  with  white  people. 
They  wear  coloured  cotton  pocket-handkerchiefs  both  round  the  waist  and  also 
poncho-wise  over  breast  and  shoulders.  The  stuffs  made  of  strips  of  palm  leaf 
and  bast  have  almost  disappeared. 


204 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


The  weapons  and  utensils  of  the  Polynesians  are  remarkably  varied  and 
abundant ;  but  among  the  Melanesians  we  meet  with  a  still  more  copious  display 
of  inventiveness  and  artistic  ingenuity.  The  absence  of  iron  is  especially  noticeable. 
When  Europeans  first  came  into  contact  with  Polynesians,  they  found  them 
compelled  to  make  up  for  the  want  of  metals  by  using  stones,  bones,  and  shells. 
Few  of  the  Polynesian  islands  possess  metallic  ores.  On  the  coral  islands  this 
might  be  expected,  but  it  is  also  true  in  most  cases  of  the  volcanic  formations. 


Man  of  the  Ruk  Islands.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album. ) 

But  the  level  of  culture  among  these  races  is  such  as  to  make  us  believe  that  if 
they  had  discovered  the  raw  material  they  would  have  advanced  to  the  use  of  the 
metals.  With  stone,  bones,  teeth,  wood,  they  have  achieved  all  that  was  possible. 
The  implements  of  navigation  and  fishery,  the  boats  and  hooks,  are  perfect  of 
their  kind,  and  show  evidence  not  only  of  cleverness  but  of  the  inventive  faculty. 
Unlike  the  Australians  and  Bushmen,  as  soon  as  they  get  iron  they  know  what  to 
do  with  it.  Naturally,  iron  was  also  converted  to  purposes  of  ornament ;  and  as 
the  value  of  glass  beads  had  already  dropped  considerably,  iron  ware  of  all  kinds 


Coco  and  Sago  Palms. 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


207 


remained  the  leading  article  of  European  trade.  They  made  it  available  at  first 
in  the  forms  to  which  they  had  long  been  accustomed,  putting  pieces  of  iron  hoop 
into  their  axes  in  place  of  Tridacna  shells,  as  shown  in  the  cut  on  p.  208,  but 
retaining  in  other  respects  the  customary  form  of  the  implement.  On  Ponapd, 
where  we  can  date  the  end  of  the  Stone  Age  about  the  beginning  of  the  twenties 
of  the  present  century,  iron  blades  were  still  always  fixed  in  the  lemon-wood 
handles  as  the  stone  had  been  ;  but  the  old  stone  ones  were  kept,  as  sacred  relics, 
in  the  most  secret  corners  of  the  house. 

For  all  heavy  implements,  especially  hammers,  adzes,  and  axes,  stone  was  the 
most  valuable  material.    It  was  less  so  for  spears,  and  stone  arrowheads  were  never  in 


Obsidian  axes  from  E^ter  Island — one-third  real  size.      (British  Museum. ) 

use.  In  Polynesian  and  Melanesian  stone-axes  we  are  struck  at  once  by  the  fact  of 
their  not  being  perforated,  and  by  the  rudimentary  workmanship  of  the  outline, 
though  careful  rounding  and  polishing  are  not  unknown.  Even  with  the  choicest 
material  and  the  most  careful  workmanship  these  axes  do  not  go  far  beyond  the 
simple  wedge  ;  and  thus  we  seldom  find  them  ground  either  hollow  in  the  neck  for 
attachment,  or  to  a  curve  in  the  sides.  The  simplest  on  the  whole  are  the  New 
Zealand  axes  or  adzes ;  often  plain  rectangles,  with  the  edge  ground  not  in  a  curve, 
but  angular.  Even  in  the  very  large  and  handsome  axes  from  Hawaii  the  cutting 
is  rough  so  far  as  the  rows  of  string  which  fasten  the  head  to  the  handle  extend. 
But  the  rudest  of  all  are  the  hatchets  of  the  Easter  Islanders,  resembling  rather 
knives,  "  knapped  "  from  obsidian  or  lava,  very  broad  in  the  blade  and  short  in 
the  handle.  The  axes  of  New  Guinea  and  the  neighbouring  islands  are  often  not 
inferior  to  these  in  size,  but  are  more  rounded  ;  being  fastened  not  on  but 
into  the  handle.  The  Hawaiian  axes,  8  to  16  inches  long  in  the  blade,  are 
in  size  and  shape  more  like  those  of  New  Zealand,  but  are  flattened  off  where 
they  are  laid  against  the  helve.  Long,  narrow,  chisel-like  stone  blades  are  also 
found  in  this  region  ;  while  the  large  ornamental  axes  of  the  Hervey  Islands  have 
thin  blades  of  basalt  of  a  spade-shape,  often  somewhat  curved.  The  fitting  of  the 
axe  was  everywhere  essentially  similar.     Those  which  Cook  brought  from  Tahiti 


2o8 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


consisted  of  a  wooden  handle  with  an  appendage  like  a  heel  projecting  behind  ;  the 
stone-axe,  flat  above  and  two-edged  underneath,  is  attached  to  the  front  part,  which 


^New  7r,lH  '-T^fw"".  Hawan-one-sixth  real  size.     ..  Adze  with  carved  helve,  probably  from 

^Zr^lTLj'^'^\     f,     i'     °'^  the  Marquesas  and  Society  Islai>ds-one-sixth  real  size.     5.  Obsidian 
fo,mh  re,1  str  f  I='and-oi>e-third  real  size.     6.  Pair  of  compasses  from  the  Society  Islands-one- 

fourth  real  size,     (i,  3,  4,  6,  Christy  Collection  ;  ..,  5,  British  Museum. ) 

falls  away  at  a  slant,  by  means  of  a  string  which  is  first  wound  round  the  handle, 
then  crosswise  over  the  blade  and  the  projection.     Much  care  is  devoted  to  the 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


209 


winding  of  this  string,  notably  by  the 
Hervey  Islanders  ;  though,  except  in 
the  case  of  ornamental  axes,  the  handle 
is  not  much  smoothed.  Of  Micro- 
nesian  axes  the  greater  number  have 
blades  of  shell,  chiefly  from  Terebra 
maadata  and  Tridacna  gigas  ■  the 
broad  back-bones  of  tortoises  are  also 
used.  Curiously  enough  the  Micro- 
nesians,  as  on  Ponap6,  overlooked 
their  admirably  adapted  stone,  never 
getting  beyond  shells.  In  the  Marshall 
Islands  the  adze  with  semicircular 
shell-blade  was  preferred  to  the  iron 
adze  for  hollowing  out  canoes.  The 
polishing  of  the  blade  with  sand  or 
pumice  is  the  task  of  the  old  men. 

Thrusting-spears  seem  to  have 
been  formerly  regarded  by  the  Poly- 
nesians as  their  chief  weapon.  They 
were  sometimes  made  of  wood  with 
the  point  hardened  in  the  fire  ;  som,e- 
times  strengthened  with  stone  blades, 
the  tail-spine  of  the  sting-ray,  splin- 
ters of  bone,  or  sharks'  teeth.  For 
a  long  time  they  were  twice  the 
height  of  a  man  ;  where  casuarina 
wood  was  lacking  coco-palm  was 
used.  Spears  were  given  away  with 
great  reluctance  ;  they  were  wrought 
and  adorned  and  ornamented  with 
special  care.  Spears  were  equally  the 
chief  weapons  of  the  Micronesians  ; 
they  were  armed  with  barbs  made  of 
sting -ray  spines,  human  bones,  the 
snout  of  the  garfish,  or  sharks'  teeth, 
but  they  are  never  so  artistic  as  in 
Melanesia.  These  weapons  serve  for 
thrusting  at  close  quarters :  shorter 
spears  sharpened  at  both  ends  were 
used  for  throwing ;  a  spear  thrower 
of  bamboo  is  recorded  from  Pelew. 
Purely  wood  weapons  include  the 
sword  of  the  Pelew  Islanders,  and 
the  pahu,  or  dagger  of  hard  wood,  in 
Yap  of  reed,  20  inches  or  rather 
more  in  length,  spatula-shaped  in  the 
handle,  and  gradually  tapering,  thence 


Maori  chiefs  insignia  and  sceptres — one-eighth  real  size. 
(Christy  Collection. ) 

P 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


carried  in  a  sheath  of  vegetable  fibres ;  angular  stone  blades  from  8  to  1 6  inches 
long  afforded  ponderous  hand  weapons. 

Next   to   the   spear    the    chief   weapon   is  the    club,    generally   made    from 

heavy    iron -wood        ^f^ 


Its 
ornamentation  makes  it 
an  interesting  produc- 
tion of  Polynesian  art. 
It  formed  the  main 
strength  of  the  Tongans, 
the  most  beautifully  exe- 
cuted type  being  the 
paddle  shape,  which  ap- 
pears to  have  become 
obsolete  even  in  Cook's 
time,  round  in  the  handle, 
flattened  above,  often 
brought  into  a  four- 
cornered  shape  by  the 
strong  accentuation  of 
the  middle  rib,  and  either 
cut  off  square  at  the  end 
or  running  out  in  an 
elliptical  point.  The 
whole  club  from  the 
handle  to  the  point  is 
covered  with  carving, 
which  either  passes 
round  in  one  spiral 
band,  or  forms  a  series 
of  chequers  divided  by 
the  side  edges  and  the 
middle  ribs,  or  else  laid 
over  and  over  each  other 
in  simple  cross  bands. 
The  ornaments  consist 
of  straight  or  zig-zag 
lines  drawn  close  to- 
gether, a  roughly  indi- 
cated human  form  being 
nearly    always    present. 


'  li^aiiy        diWctya        piCSCilL. 

'■■   '^f^^'^.  ^"^^  ^"°*'  ^^''i  '°  '°^  ^''°'"  'he  Society  Islands— one-eighth  real  size    Stars  and  CrescentS  often 
(Christy   Collection.)      2.    W^ooden    djurirpi-   fmm    m«,.,    v„„i j       ...._ 


(Christy   Collection^)      2     Wooden    dagger   from   New 'zealand^'two-  aooear  aq  wpIi"  pTfimVrpq 

sevenths  real  size  (British  Museum).     3.  Spear  set  with  sharks'  teeth    from  ^PP^^'^'  ^^  ^Cll  aS  tlgUrCS 

the   Gilbert    Islands  —  one  -  fifteenth   real   size   (Munich    Ethnographical  of    fisheS    and    tOrtoiseS. 

Museum).     4.   Saw,  said  to  be  used  also  as  dagger,  of  ray-spine   from  TU  1  11.. 

Pelew— one-third  real  size  (Berlin  Museum).  ^  "^7     ^^Ve    a    shauk    tO 

,,  ...  ,    ,  ,  hang  them  up  by.  Beside 

these  richly  carved  clubs  smooth  ones  are  also  found  quite  flat,  paddle-shaped  with 
a  ring  below  the  blade,  and  others  of  a  simple  mallet-shape  with  short  handle. 
-Paddles  of  honour"  is  a  name  given  to  paddle-shaped  objects  6  feet  long  and 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS 


211 


more,  either  carved  in  cross  bands  like  the  clubs,  or  sculptured  in  a  fashion  which 
reminds  one  of  elegantly  chipped  flint  instruments.     The  Marquesas    Islanders 


I 


I.  Wooden  swords  from  Pelew  and  Hawaii— one-fifth  real  size  (British  Museum).  2.  Bow  and  arrow  from  the 
Friendly  Islands— one-third  real  size  (Christy  Collection).  3.  Saw  of  ray-spine,  said  to  be  from  Pelew— 
one-third  real  size  (British  Museum.)     4.   Bone  spear-head— real  size  (Christy  Collection). 

are  distinguished  in  the  manufacture  of  these  beautiful  clubs  ;  the  blade  of  their 
paddle-shaped  clubs,  like  almost  every  production  of  their  artistic  dexterity,  con- 
tains a  fantastically    executed    human    countenance.      But    the    most    beautiful 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Hawaiian  wicker-w  ork  helmet — one  fourth  real  size. 
(Berlin  Museum. ) 


paddle -shaped  clubs  were  certainly 
made  by  the  Hervey  Islanders,  who  ex- 
aggerated the  delicate  cell-carving  of 
the  Tongans  to  the  verge  of  the  finikin. 
The  Tahitians  and  the  most  closely 
allied  tribes  devoted  much  trouble  to 
the  polishing  of  their  weapons. 

The  axes  of  the  Hervey  Islanders 
with  perforated  handles,  or  the  over- 
elegant  clubs  of  the  Tongans,  were 
obviously  designed  in  the  first  in- 
stance as  insignia  of  rank,  and  can 
only  exceptionally  have  been  used 
in  fighting.  The  ceremonial  axes  of 
Rarotonga  and  Tahiti  may  also  have 
been  originally  to  some  extent  in  use, 
and  have  been,  with  their  symbolically 
worked  handles,  preserved  after  the 
owner's  death  as  a  memorial.     Spears 

also    were    converted    into    tokens   of   rank ;    among    these    the    New    Zealand 

sceptres   of  honour  were 

conspicuous     for     length 

and     decoration.       They 

vary    in    shape    between 

staff     and      paddle,     the 

simplest  being  cylindrical 

staves  with  jagged  longi- 
tudinal lines.     They  end 

in  a  more  or  less  compli- 
cated knob,  in  the  spirals 

and   twists  of  which  may 

always  be  detected  eyes, 

or  even  a  human   figure. 

Axes,      pipes,      daggers, 

flutes,    are    often    in     no 

way  inferior  in  ornament- 
ation to  these  decorative 

objects,     and     yet     they 

must   have    been    in    use. 

They     show      how     the 

whole  life  and  action  of 

Polynesia  was  imbued  in 

a  dignified  manner  with 

religious  images,  symbols, 

and  ceremonies.      In  the 

way    of    tools    we     find 

sharks'    teeth    set    in     a 

J  u       J 1  •         Small  weapons  with  sharks'  teeth  from  Tonga,  dagger  and  baler  from  Hawaii, 

WOOaen       nanale     servmg  and  gourd  bottle  from  New  Caledonia.     {Vienna  Museum. ) 


THE  POLYNESIANS  AND  MICRONESIANS  313 

for  graving  tools,  also  wooden  bows  with  similar  teeth  at  both  ends  for  use  in 
drawing  circles. 

Small  weapons  of  sharks'  teeth,  intended  for  the  cutting  up  of  prisoners, 
served  to  gratify  the  horrible  passion  for  torture ;  and  were  also  employed  in 
the  self-lacerations  practised  by  mourners  in  token  of  their  grief.  Perhaps  we 
should  reckon  among  these  the  implement  made  of  the  sting  of  a  ray,  shown  in 
the  illustration  on  p.  210,  equally  available  as  file  or  dagger.  Weapons  of  sharks' 
teeth  reached  a  fine  development  in  the  Society  Islands  and  in  Hawaii.  The 
kind  of  forked  sword  made  from  a  three-or-four-forked  bough  of  casuarina,  and 
set  with  these  teeth,  was  regarded  as  the  most  terrible  weapon.  The  Berlin 
Museum  possesses  a  club  from  Yap,  made  of  the  bones  of  the  whale,  and  set 
with  rays'  spines.  The  population  of  the  Gilbert  or  Kingsmill  Islands,  by  con- 
sistent progress  in  this  particular  direction,  acquired  a  peculiar  style  in  the 
manufacture  of  weapons,  demanding  both  industry  and  dexterity.  One  might 
suppose  they  were  a  powerful  race  living  in  a  constant  state  of  war.  The  fitting 
of  their  weapons  with  sharks'  teeth,  which  were  fastened  on  with  strings  of  coco-nut 
fibre  twisted  with  human  hair,  appears  like  a  further  development  of  the  weapon 
found  among  the  Malays,  consisting  of  the  saw  of  the  saw-fish.  The  necessary 
counterpart  to  this  weapon-making  skill  is  the  armour.  Closely  plaited  of  string, 
coarse  and  thick,  this  must  have  been  painfully  heavy  to  wear,  but  was  necessary 
if  only  to  weaken  the  moral  effect  of  the  sharks'  teeth.  A  helmet  made  from  the 
prickly  skin  of  the  Diodon  or  porcupine  fish  completed  this  original  equipment. 

Bows  and  arrows  were  in  Cook's  time  used  only  for  hunting  or  in  sport ;  and 
now  they  hardly  exist  in  Micronesia  and  Polynesia.  The  bow  of  the  Friendly 
Islands,  which  was  only  used  to  shoot  rats,  is  yet  a  very  fine  weapon.  It  is  as 
high  as  a  man,  beautifully  made  of  polished  firm  wood,  and  fitted  with  a  strong 
twisted  string ;  but  its  companion  the  quiver  has  quite  disappeared,  and  the 
number  of  arrows  is  reduced  to  one.  The  Pelew  natives  use,  for  pigeon-shooting, 
bows  of  mangrove  wood  with  a  string  of  fibre.  In  New  Zealand,  language 
indicates  a  former  acquaintance  with  the  weapon. 

In  the  Gilbert  Islands,  Paumotu,  and  Easter  Island,  bows  are  entirely  absent ; 
and  in  the  Hawaiian  group  they  appear  to  have  been  re-introduced  only  in  the 
course  of  the  present  century.  It  is,  however,  incorrect  to  say  that,  owing  to 
the  gradual  cessation  of  hunting  in  these  islands  with  few  animals,  weapons  of 
long  range  held  no  place  in  Polynesian  strategy.  Next  t>o  the  spear  and  the 
javelin  the  sling  is  the  most  frequent  Micronesian  weapon  ;  slings  of  plaited 
twine,  like  those  of  Melanesia,  are  known  in  the  Mortlock  and  Caroline  Islands. 
Next  to  them  come  short  thro  wing-clubs.  In  the  Marquesas  the  sling  made  of 
coco-nut  fibre,  throwing  stones,  polished  or  angular,  as  big  as  hen's  eggs,  is  among 
the  most  dreaded  weapons.  Clever  slingers  were  in  high  esteem,  and  formed  a 
special  troop  in  the  Tahitian  army.  At  favourable  moments  they  would  advance 
beyond  the  mass  of  the  host,  and  let  fly  at  the  enemy  with  loud  shouts. 

In  many  parts  of  Polynesia  the  variety  of  offensive  weapons  diverted  attention 
from  any  care  for  defensive  armour  and  other  means  of  protection  ;  battles  had 
a  ceremonial  character,  and  the  object  of  weapons  was  to  make  a  warrior  seem 
prouder  and  more  terrible.  Unfortunately  we  have  no  accurate  description  of 
the  Tahitian  equipment.  The  greatest  value  was  attached  to  the  head-dress. 
Among   the    Hawaiians   this   was   an    elegant   helmet   of  feather -work  ;   among 


214  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

the  tribes  of  the  Austral  Islands,  of  a  fantastic  shape.  To  attack  the  wearer  of 
a  conspicuous  head  adornment  was  reckoned  a  heroic  action ;  his  fall  often 
decided  the  engagement.  Another  article  of  Tahitian  uniform  was  a  collar, 
decked  with  feathers  and  shells,  which  served  as  a  breastplate.  Parkinson  saw 
Gilbert  Islanders  ready  for  fight,  with  the  hard  dried  skin  of  a  ray  wrapped 
round  breast  and  belly  under  their  coco-fibre  armour,  and  on  the  top  of  all  as 
much  cordage  as  could  be  got  on.  They  themselves,  with  their  ray-spined  spear 
20  feet  long,  did  not  advance,  but  only  stimulated  the  fighters.  In  Tongatabu, 
Forster  found  a  large  flat  breastplate  made  of  a  round  bone,  probably  that  of 
some  kind  of  whale  ;  it  was  20  inches  in  diameter  and  beautifully  polished.  The 
Marquesan  adornment  of  the  same  kind  consists  of  pieces  of  a  light  cork-like 
wood,  tied  into  a  half-ring,  fastened  with  resin,  and  set  with  red  a&rus-heans. 
Among  poorer  races  this  breastplate  seems  to  be  replaced  by  a  shell.  In  the 
flat  shell,  often  ground  to  a  tooth-shape,  which  many  Polynesians  wear  hanging 
on  their  breasts,  we  may  perhaps  recognise  a  reduced  form  of  this. 


§  s.  THE  NEGROID  RACES  OF  TPIE  PACIFIC  AND 
INDIAN  OCEANS 

Distribution — Traces  of  an  earlier  more  extensive  distribution  in  tlie  Indian  Ocean^Colour ;  Skull ;  Hair ; 
Bodily  build ;  Resemblance  to  Negroes— Alleged  race  of  Dwarfs— Relation  of  Papuas  and  Negritos- 
Misunderstanding  of  the  name  Alfurs — Character  and  mental  qualities  of  the  Melanesian  population. 

Crossing  the  eastern  boundary  of  Melanesia,  we  at  once  come  in  the  Fiji 
Islands  across  a  plainly  negroid  race,  the  traces  of  which  to  the  eastv/ard  we  have 
already  mentioned  (see  p.  147  sqq.).  Beyond  the  region  defined  as  Melanesia,  it  is 
found  in  the  interior  of  India  and  Ceylon.  In  the  Malay  Archipelago  it  extends 
westward  as  far  as  Timor  ;  when  we  get  to  Lombok  we  find  Malays.  To  one 
particular  group,  the  Negritos,  may  be  with  much  probability  assigned  an  extension 
to  east  and  north  formerly  much  wider.  The  inhabitants  of  the  interior  of  the 
Philippines,  who  live  in  a  state  of  warfare  with  the  Malays  who  invade  the  coast 
districts,  belong  to  this  group.  The  Aborigines  of  the  Andamans  are  nearly  akin, 
and  some  profess  to  point  to  traces  of  the  race  in  the  Mariannes  and  in  Micronesia. 
Qurtrefages  found  his  so-called  "Mincopie-Type  "even  in  the  Japanese  skull,  though 
in  an  attenuated  form.  Remains  of  negroid  tribes  are  also  said  to  be  known  in 
the  interior  of  Malacca  and  in  India.  This  dispersed  and  fragmentary  occurrence 
of  the  dark  element  has  suggested  to  many  observers  the  view  that  we  should  see 
therein  an  earlier  population  of  these  and  neighbouring  regions,  for  which  the 
continent  of  Southern  Asia  formed  a  bridge  between  the  Indo-Pacific  •  and  the 
African  domains  of  the  Negro.  Upon  this  the  lighter  men  were  superimposed  in  a 
broad  layer,  leading  on  the  mainland  to  every  possible  degree  of  crossing.  Here 
also  we  must  guard  against  any  cut-and-dried  notions  with  respect  to  the  relations 
of  ever-shifting  races.  The  Papuas  made  forays  against  Asia,  and  came  in  great 
numbers  as  slaves  to  Ceram  and  the  Eastern  part  of  the  Malay  Archipelago.  In 
this  way  we  may  explain  in  some  measure  those  races  not  woolly-haired,  but  crisp  or 
curly-haired,  which,  starting  from  Ceram,  have  made  their  way  among  the  straight- 
haired  population.     The  name  Alfuros  or  Alfurs  has  nothing  to  do  with  these 


(i-3)  Necklaces  of  shell  and  beans,  with  limpet-shells.  (4  and  5)  Ear-pendants,  with  dolphin's  teeth.  (6  and  7) 
Ear-buttons  of  whale's  tooth.  (8)  Necklace  of  tortoise-shell.  (9)  Neck  ornament.  (10)  Necklace.  (11) 
Wooden  fillet  for  the  head.  (12)  Ear-button  made  of  a  ray's  vertebra.  (13,  14)  Armlets  of  black  wood  and 
whale's  tooth.  (15)  Neck  ornament.  (16)  Necklace  of  shell-disks  and  whale's  tooth.  (1-7,  Marquesas  ; 
8  and  15,  Friendly  Islands;  9,  Hervey  Islands;  10,  11,  Society  Islands;  12,  Easter  Island;  13,  14, 
Hawaii;  16,  Nukuor.) 


THE  NEGROID  RACES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND  INDIAN  OCEANS       215 


Papua-like  and  Negrito-like  elements.  Thus,  without  speaking  of  the  dark  races 
everywhere  as  a  primitive  population,  we  may  at  least  denote  them  as  probably 
the  older. 

In  the  colour  of  the  skin  dark  tints  prevail  without  quite  reaching  the  depth  of 
much  Negro  colouring.  The  nearest  to  this,  perhaps,  is  the  colour  of  many 
Solomon  Islanders  ;  manifold  admixtures  of  lighter  elements  are  the  cause  of  the 
frequency  of  various  shading.  In  Western  Fiji,  in  the  New  Hebrides,  Malicollo, 
and  New  Britain,  the  dolichocephalic  form  of  skull  prevails.  The  dark  crisp-haired 
population  of  negroid  exterior  in  the  Malayan  Archipelago  and  New  Guinea 
are  said  to  be  brachycephalic,  as  are  the  so-called  Mincopies  of  the  Andamans. 
According  to  Krauser  the  Fijian  skull  is  highly  prognathous.  At  one  time  it  was 
alleged  that  their  hair  grew  in  tufts,  in  which  it  was  sought  to  find  a  distinction 
from  the  African  Negro  ;  now  it  has  been  discovered  that  the  hair  is  distributed 
pretty  evenly  over  the  scalp,  and  only  assumes  the  tufted  appearance  when  it 


New  Guinea  girl.     (From  a  Photograph  in  the  possession  of  Herr  W.  Joost,  Berlin.) 

becomes  long.  Individual  hairs  are  coarse,  wiry,  and  of  elliptical  section  ;  on  the 
face  and  body  the  hair  seems  to  be  stronger  than  in  Negroes. 

The  frequent  occurrence  of  small  individuals  is  a  curious  feature  in  the  negroid 
population  of  the  Indo-Malayan  region.  In  many  tribes  they  form  a  decided 
majority,  and  are  clearly  distinguished  from  the  others.  The  average  height  of 
the  Papuas  of  New  Guinea  and  the  neighbouring  islands  is  between  5  feet  5  inches 
and  5  feet  8  inches.  The  Fijians  even,  especially  in  the  upper  classes,  are  often 
taller  than  the  whites  ;  on  the  other  hand,  for  the  Andaman  Islanders  the  standard 
is  from  4  feet  6  inches  to  5  feet ;  for  the  Negritos  the  average  is  5  feet.  The 
measurement  among  the  Kanjhars  of  South  India  is  for  men  5  feet  i  inch  to 
S  feet  3  inches  ;  the  Veddahs  of  Ceylon  4  feet  9  inches  to  4  feet  1 1  inches  ;  the 
Paliars  of  Travancore  about  S  feet  3  inches  ;  the  Kardars  of  the  Anamalai 
mountains  from  $  feet  i  inch  to  5  feet  5  inches. 

The  resemblance  to  Negroes  which  predominates  in  the  total  of  the  phenomena 


:i6  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


is  constanth-  being  insisted  on ;  260  years  ago  Tasman  expressed  it  by  sajing 
that  they  only  differed  from  Kciffirs  in  having  less  woolly  hair.  Observers  like 
Finsch  and  D'Albertis  take  every  opportunitj-  of  rejecting  the  notion  of  a  special 
Papuan  race  ;  the  prevailing  type  of  the  Melanesiaiis  is  only  a  slight  variation, 
recognisable  by  the  greater  abundance  of  hair  on  the  face  and  body,  and  by 
peculiarities  in  the  features.  In  the  larger  archipelagos  the  natives  displaj-  various 
departures  from  the  tj-pe  which  may  be  referred  partly  to  ]\Ialayo-Polynesian 
crossing,  partly  to  the  influence  of  their  surroundings.  Not  to  mention  Fiji,  with 
its  patchwork  of  races,  the  New  Hebrides  unfold  before  us  a  real  book  of  patterns. 
On  the  Southern  Islands  the  inhabitants  are  better  developed  than  in  the  north  ; 
on  Tanna  they  are  handsomer,  bolder,  and  of  finer  character  than  elsewhere ;  on 
Api  they  are  lean,  ugly,  and  very  tall  ;  on  Erromango  they  are  very  short.  Even 
in  maps  of  the  sixteenth  century  there  appear  off  the  coast  of  New  Guinea  Islas 
de  Mala  Gente  side  by  side  with  Islas  de  Honibres  Blancos.  Thus  it  is  impossible 
to  speak  of  a  geographical  division  of  these  dark  races  into  one  group  of  eastern 
dolichocephalic  Papuas  and  one  of  western  brachycephalic  Xeg^tos,  for  the 
conditions  under  which  the  latter  dwell  are  even  less  favourable  to  the  production 
of  unalloyed  characteristics. 

With  their  widespread  distribution  we  shall  expect  to  find  them  dividing  up 
into  sub-races.  Here  we  are  justified  in  inquiring  into  the  relation  which  they 
hold  towards  the  Australians.  Certain  points  of  agreement  are  obvious — 
dark  skins,  pronounced  hairiness,  beards  ;  besides  this  we  have  relationship  of 
language.  We  maj-  admit  the  variet}-  of  the  Australian  race,  and  that 
Australia  has  probabl}'  been  invaded  by  elements  from  New  Guinea  and 
Polynesia.      It  is  not  the  case  that  the  woolly-haired  Australians   are  confined  to 

the  north  or  north-east ;  there  are  many  Austra- 
lians who  come  nearer  than  the  Papuas  to  the 
mi.xed  Polynesian  breed.  Independently  of  the 
differences  and  transitions  called  into  existence  by 
Polynesian  immigration,  leanness  of  the  arms  and 
legs,  bad  proportions,  an  ill-nourished  condition, 
are  noticed  as  approximations  to  the  Australian 
t}-pe.  Besides  this  we  find  also  physiognomies 
reminding  us  of  Indians,  Jews,  or  Europeans. 

Great  confusion  has  arisen  from  the  application 
of  the  name  Negritos,  especially  to  the  inhabitants 
of   the    Philippines,    a    mixed    dark    race    with 
straight  hair.     One  view  with  regard   to    these 
^  -__  Negritos  may  be  summarised  in  the   statement 

Man  of  N>«-  TrPi=.nH     /p       .u  ^  J  ^      '^^^^  ^'^^y  ^""^  ^^'^  the  most  part  brown  men,  with 

Man  ot  .New  Ireland.     (From  the  Godefiroy    „,  1       /     u  ,,    , 

Album.)  curly  (seldom   woolly)  or  even   straight  hair — a 

race  of  the  mountains,  the  forests,  and  the  chase 
and  departing  from  the  Malayan  race-type  in  respect  more  of  their  social  and 
geographical  position  than  of  any  anthropological  marks.i  When  the  Spaniards 
came  to  the  Philippines  they  found  Malays  on  the  coast,  Tagals  more  inland; 
and  in  the  mountains,  the  Aetas,  ^\  ho  were  driven    back  and   decaying.     Con- 


THE  NEGROID  RACES  OF   THE  PACIFIC  AND  INDIAN  OCEANS      217 


sidering  the  wide  diffusion  of  Negroid  elements,  it  is  not  astonishing  if  they  have 
mingled  in  this  socially  inferior  group  of  races ;  they  arc  found  also  in  other 
regions  in  which  both  Malayoid  and  Negroid  elements  are  included.  The  darker 
population  in  the  cast  of  the  Malay  Archipelago  at  least  reminds  us,  in  a  certain 
hybrid  character,  of  the  Negritos,  as  found  in  Hahnaliera  or  Gilolo,  and  the 
interior  of  Great  Nicobar.  In  the  Malay  Peninsula  the  Negroid  element  reappears 
more  clearly.  On  other  islands  of  this  region,  too,  we  meet  with  a  race, 
swarthier  than  the  other  inhabitants,  slim  and  tall,  with  woolly  or  crisp  hair, 
living  in  the  mountain  districts  of  the  interior.  They  were  known  as  Harafara 
or  Alfurs.  But  if  the  distinctions  between  the  tribes  who  have  been  driven  back 
into  the  interior  and  those  who  live  on  the  coast  are  often,  even  in  small  islands, 
as  great  as  those  between 
Bushmen  and  Hottentots, 
the  effects  of  social  and 
political  distinctions  take 
precedence  of  distinction  of 
race.  The  Orang  Panggang 
and  Orang  Scmang  in  the 
interior  of  Malacca  are  de- 
scribed as  little  men,  mostly 
dark,  with  crisp  hair.  Maclay 
compares  them  with  the 
Negritos  of  the  Philii)pines, 
and  speaks  of  "  men  of  pure 
Melanesian  blood  among 
them." 

A  claim  to  form  a  group 
by  themselves  is  made  also 
by  the  small  races  diverging 
in  many  respects  from  the 
Papuan  type,  who  live  in  the 
western  part  of  this  area  of 
diffusion.  The  Andamanese 
may  pass  as  their  typical 
form.  The  face  has  a  bene- 
volent, gentle  expression  ;  the  forehead  is  arched  ;  the  eyes  are  round,  and  set 
horizontally  ;  the  nose  is  small  and  straight ;  the  lips  not  strikingly  prominent. 

In  India  dark  men  are  numerous,  extending  far  to  the  north.  The  assumption 
that  we  have  here  to  do  with  a  great  racial  struggle  in  former  times  has  been 
strengthened  by  the  poetical  exaggerations  of  tradition,  which  draws  a  sharp 
contrast  between  the  combatant  races,  as  black  and  white  ;  deriding  the  flat  and  nose- 
less countenances  of  the  dark  foe  ;  and  even  depicting  them  as  apes.  But  thorough 
research  has  always  tended  to  lighten  the  dark  colour  of  this  race,  and  raise  their 
level  of  culture.  Indeed,  the  important  and  talented  race  called  Tamils  belong 
to  this  group.  Some  have  thought  fit  to  reckon  the  blended  little  race  known  as 
the  Veddahs  of  Ceylon  among  the  most  degraded  of  the  earth  ;  but  the  more 
evidence  comes  to  hand,  the  clearer  it  becomes  that  they  are  not  even  so  dark 
as  many  Tamils  ;  that,  as  regards  the  face,  the  distinction  is  small  between  them 


Fijian  lady.     ( From  Godeffroy  Album. ) 


2l8 


THE    HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


and  the  highly-civilized  Cingalese ;  that  their  hair  is  not  at  all  the  woolly  hair  of 
the  Negro  ;  and  that  their  language  is  an  Indian  dialect  full  of  Sanscrit  words,  and 
alloyed  with  Dra vidian  elements. 

Must  we  then  perhaps  look  for  the  real  negro  element  in  the  small  crisp- 
haired  men  or  black  dwarfs 
who  are  said  to  live  in  trees 
in  the  Athrumalli  mountains 
of  South  India?  Jagor  has 
drawn  these  tree  dwellings 
(see  p.  1 08),  but  they  only 
serve  as  places  of  refuge, 
otherwise  these  ill  -  famed 
people  live  in  regular  villages. 
If  in  the  descriptions  of  them 
it  has  been  again  and  again 
pointed  out  that  they  live  on 
products  of  the  jungle,  eat 
mice,  dwell  among  the 
branches,  worship  demons ; 
nevertheless  social  debase- 
ment and  anthropological 
degradation  remain  quite 
distinct  things,  and  if  the 
Kaders,  the  Nairs,  and  other 
mountain  tribes  of  South 
India  are  depicted  as  thick- 
lipped  dwarfs,  the  example 
of  the  Veddahs  shows  us  how 
much  these  random  descrip- 
tions can  be  depended  on. 
Even  the  fact  that  some  of  these  tribes  file  their  teeth  to  a  point,  while 
others  live  in  polyandry,  and  observe  the  Tamil  custom  of  inheritance  through 
the  mother,  or  that  men  and  youths  live  separately  in  one  great  house,  need  not 
give  them  any  lower  a  place  in  our  eyes.  Traces  of  these  customs  run  through 
all  mankind,  even  the  traces  of  cannibalism  in  the  mountain  tribes  of  Assam  are 
not  astonishing.  A  more  important  fact  is  that  some  of  them  have  used  stone 
weapons  and  utensils  even  to  our  own  time,  and  in  connection  with  this  we 
remember  that  traces  of  the  Stone  Age,  probably  recent,  are  found  in  the  whole 
region  of  the  eastern  Indian  ocean,  where  iron  now  has  the  upper  hand.  Some 
of  the  dark  races  of  India  have  quite  recently  made  advances  which  are  still 
compatible  with  relics  of  their  former  savage  forest  life.  The  Santals  of  Lower 
Bengal  have  not  only  learnt  to  till  the  ground,  but  have  adopted  the  plough,  and 
in  the  course  of  a  century  have  from  hunters  and  brigands  become  a  peaceful 
people  of  more  than  a  million  souls.  The  Khonds,  who  dwell  farther  to  the 
south,  no  doubt  carry  on  their  agriculture  still  in  a  semi-nomadic  fashion,  some 
communities  migrating  every  fourteen  years  ;  but  they  have  become  peaceable 
and  have  abandoned  their  human  sacrifices.  The  46  million  Dravidians  of 
South  India  include,  beside  some  poor  nomadic  tribes,  a  great  majority  of  races 


Fijian  gentleman.      (From  Godeffroy  Album. ) 


THE  NEGROID  RACES   OF   THE  PACIFIC  AND  INDIAN  OCEANS      219 


who  may  bo  reckoned  as  props  of  Indian  civilization  in  the  same  sense  as  the 
Aryans. 

The  difference  between  the  Melanesian  character  and  the  Polynesian  has  often 
been  noted.  It  lies  essentially  on  the  Negro  side.  Their  bodily  resemblance  is 
paralleled  by  a  mental  one.  The  Melanesian  is  more  impulsive,  more  frank, 
noisier,  and  more  violent  than  the  Polynesian.  In  cases  where  he  appears  in 
less  favourable  light,  the  key  to  many  contradictions  is  to  be  found  in  a  pride 
which  at  one  moment  is  elated,  and  at  the  next  has  a  keen  scent  for  anything 
like  injury.     Those  who  know  the  Fijians  best  depict  them  as  the  vainest  of  all 

men.       A     casual    utterance    will    cause    a  

woman  to  sit  down  in  the  public  place 
of  a  village,  shed  tears  without  end,  and  fill 
the  air  with  lamentations  and  a  flood  of 
scolding  and  threatening  language.  The 
cry  will  be  heard  from  the  top  of  a  hill, 
"  War,  war !  will  no  man  kill  me  that  I  may 
go  to  the  shade  of  my  father?"  All  rush  to 
the  spot  and  find  a  man  in  the  depths  of 
grief  because  his  friend  has  cut  off  a  yard 
or  two  from  a  piece  of  bark  cloth  belonging 
to  them  in  common.  Suicide  is  not  uncom- 
mon. Closely  connected  with  pride  is 
swagger,  often  shown  in  the  compilation  of 
fantastic  pedigrees.  The  arts  of  diplomacy 
thrive  in  this  soil ;  these  hot-blooded  natures 
have  a  capacity,  which  one  would  hardly 
suspect,  for  clothing  themselves  in  an  im- 
penetrable etiquette.  The  forms  of  good 
manners  are  strictly  observed. 

The  frequency  of  theft  is  well  known, 
but  it  is  chiefly  directed  against  strangers. 
Native  plantations  are  to  natives  inviolable ; 
yet  so  powerful  a  motive  is  covetousness, 
that  the  plundering  of  a  grave  is  no  uncom- 
mon event,  even  when  nothing  more  than  a 

few  rags   is  to  be  got   by   it.      It   sometimes   happens,  however,  that  a  person 
caught  in  the  act  of  committing  this  crime  gets  burnt  or  buried  alive. 

Revenge  may  form  the  most  important  duty  in  lifeTor  a  Melanesian.  If  a 
man  is  injured  he  puts  up  a  stick  or  a  stone  where  he  can  see  it,  to  keep  him 
constantly  in  mind  of  the  duty  of  revenge.  If  a  man  abstains  from  food  or 
keeps  away  from  the  dance  it  is  a  bad  sign  for  his  enemies.  The  man  who  goes 
about  with  his  head  half- shaved,  or,  in  addition  to  this,  allows  a  long  twisted 
bunch  of  hair  to  hang  down  his  back,  is  thinking  of  revenge.  Sometimes  a 
bundle  of  tobacco  hangs  from  the  gable,  which  is  only  to  be  smoked  over  the 
corpse  of  an  enemy,  or  the  bloody  clothes  of  a  slain  relation  preserves  the 
memory  of  an  unatoned  deed.  Nor  is  there  any  lack  of  friends  to  keep  a  man 
in  mind  of  his  duty  with  songs  either  lamenting  or  censuring.  Open  violence 
is  not  the  only  means  of  appeasing  revenge.      Hired  assassins  are  employed,  or 


Woman  of  the  Anchorite's  Islands.     (From  the 
Godeffroy  Album. ) 


220 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


magical  devices  with  sticks,  leaves,  or  reeds,  are  adopted.  A  dead  man  often  takes 
a  whole  generation  with  him  ;  his  wives  are  throttled,  and  his  mother  often 
shares  the  same  fate.  Treacherous  and  bloodthirsty  acts,  such  as  have  earned 
a  bad  reputation  for  the  Solomon  Islanders  in  particular,  may.  often  be  referred 
only  to  expiation  for  some  injustice  suffered.  There  is  no  abstract  word  corre- 
sponding to  our  "  Thanks,"  it  is  even  regarded  as  good  manners  for  the  person 
who  receives  a  present  not  to  betray  any  feeling.  People  when  they  meet  greet 
each  other  with  words  like,  "  You  are  staying,"  "  Go  on  "  ;  rubbing  of  noses  is 
only  found  among  the  Polynesians,  kissing  was  originally  unknown.  The  Banks 
Islanders  use  as  a  familiar  greeting  a  sounding  smack  with  the  hand. 


Woman  of  the  Anchorite's  Islands.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album.) 

The  degrees  of  activity  and  prosperity  are  numerous.  In  Mallicollo  and 
New  Caledonia  the  people  are  poor  and  lazy.  On  the  other  hand  those  of  Fiji 
and  New  Britain  are  proud  of  possession  and  greedy  for  gain  ;  quite  ready  to 
beg  of  strangers,  but  clever  in  trade.  Our  ethnographical  museums  possess  an 
astounding  wealth  of  works  of  art  from  certain  favoured  spots  ;  of  which  we  need 
only  name  Astrolabe  Bay  and  the  little  D'Entrecasteaux  Islands.  Though  out- 
ward appearance  is  indistinguishable,  there  are  poor  people,  well-to-do  people, 
rich,  very  rich,  just  as  with  us.  The  saying  is,  as  Finsch  tells  us,  "  He  is  worth 
ten  or  more  rings  of  diwarra."  We  have  already  contradicted  the  unfounded 
assumption  that  the  Melanesians  are  an  altogether  weak,  backward-driven  group 
of  races ;  and  need  here  only  recall  a  remark  of  D'Albertis  concerning  the 
inhabitants  of  Hall  Sound  in  New  Guinea,  who  have  come  but  little  into  contact 
with  civilization :  "  We  may  have  many  reasons  for  calling  them  savages  ;  but 
they  live  in  a  state  of  relative  comfort  and  good  fortune  which  one  might  almost 
denote  as  culture." 

Dull  and  barren  stupidity  does  not  characterise  the  mental  endowment  of  the 


THE  NEGROID  RACES   OF  THE  PACIFIC  AND  INDIAN  OCEANS      221 


Musical  instrument  from  New  Ireland — one-third 
real  size.     (Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig. ) 


Melanesians.  German  observers  have  drawn  special  attention  to  the  capacity  of 
the  Bismarck  Islanders  for  education.  In  judging  of  their  intellectual  nature  we 
must  overlook  neither  the  acuteness  of 
their  senses  nor  their  inventive  faculty. 
These  "  savages  "  find  tools,  twine,  packing 
materials,  where  the  white  man  is  at  a 
helpless  standstill.  To  their  keen  prac- 
tical eye  Nature  seems  a  storehouse  of 
useful  articles,  where  what  they  require 
at  the  moment  is  constantly  at  hand. 
Figurative  language  is  everywhere  in  use  ; 
and  by  means  of  obsolete  or  borrowed 
words  it  has  attained  the  position  of  a 
regular  poetic  dialect.  In  the  Banks  Islands 
almost  every  village  has  its  poet  or  poetess, 

whose  performances  do  not  remain  unrewarded.     Death  is  often  referred  to  as 
"  sleep,"  and  fluids  that  have  become  set  as  "  sleeping  "  ;  they  speak  of  dying  as 

a  sunset,  and  denote  ignorance  by  "  the  night 

of  the  spirit."     For  modesty  they  employ  the 

term  by  which  they  indicate  the 

gentle  half-tones  of  evening  light. 

To  reef  the  sail  is  to  fold  the  wing. 

If  their  feeling  for  Nature  is  less 

than  might  be  expected  when  we 

look  at  their  noble  landscapes  and 

their  beautiful  flowing  seas,  their 

poetry  and  their 

art     make    free 

use  of  these  in 

description   and 

picture. 

Apart  from 
its  didactic,  pro- 
verbial, brief 
terms  of  phrase 
which  betray 
keen  observa- 
tion and  wit 
rather  than 
fancy,  Fijian 
poetry  finds  its 
most  character- 
istic expression 
in  the  so-called 
Meke,  a  name 
which      implies 

both  song  and  dance.     To  only  a  few  elect  is  it  given   to  invent  these  ;  and 
those  allege  that  they  are  carried  in  their  sleep  to  the  spirit-world,  where  divine 


Spatula  for  betel-lime  from  New  Guinea — one-half  real  size, 
in  New  Guinea — one-eighth  real  size  (Christy  Collection), 
in  the  New  Hebrides  (after  Codrington). 


■2.   Drum  from  Pigville 
3.   Drums  from  Amboyna 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


beings  teach  them  a  song  with  the  appropriate  dance.  The  ideal  of  the  Fijian 
poet  is  regular  measure  and  every  verse  ending  with  the  same  vowel.  This  he 
seeks    to  obtain  by  arbitrary  abbreviations    and    lengthenings,    by    the    use    of 

expletives,       omission       of 


Cafved  coco-nut  from  New  Guinea — one-half  real  size.    (Christy  Collection. 


general 


articles,  and  other  poetical 
licenses.  Seldom,  however, 
is  a  poem  achieved  like  that 
recorded  by  Mr.  Williams, 
consisting  of  eighteen  verses 
all  ending  in  au.  In  the 
historical  and  legendary 
ballads  the  disposition  to- 
wards exaggeration  often 
takes  a  grotesque  form ; 
nor  are  interpolations  often 
lacking,  to  bring  in  some 
quite  irrelevant  bit  of 
coarseness  which  for  the 
public  constitutes  the  main  attraction  of  the  poem.  The  ballads  are 
chiefly  sung  at  night,  with  the  inevitable  dances  ;  but  so  great  is  the  love  of  the 
Melanesians  for  song  that  they  sing  at  their  field-work  or  when  rowing  or 
walking  about.      As  a  rule  one  sings  a  verse  and  the  chorus  repeats  it. 

Melanesian  music  on  the  whole  resembles  Polynesian.  Musical  instruments 
are  absent  only  from  the  smallest  islands.  The  prevalence  of  the  drum  in  all  forms 
reminds  us  of  Africa.  A  small 
drum,  made  from  a  bamboo  with 
a  slit  in  it,  and  beaten  with  a  stick. 
is  carried  especially  by  the  women, 
in  order  to  announce  their  ap- 
proach on  occasions  at  which  they 
are  excluded.  From  New  Ire- 
land we  have  a  peculiar  wooden 
instrument  from  which  a  vibrat- 
ing tone  is  extracted  by  drawing 
the  flat  hand  along  it.  The 
people  of  New  Britain  had  pan-pipes  varying  in  size  and  number  of  pipes ;  Jews' 
harps  of  bamboo  are  also  found  in  the  Solomon  Isles.  There,  too,  on  festive 
occasions,  bands  composed  of  twenty  men  perform,  more  than  half  of  whom  play 
wind  instruments,  reeds  fastened  twenty-three  in  a  row,  and  straight  flutes  of 
bamboo  some  3  feet  long  by  2\  inches  thick,  from  which  they  extract  two  or 
three  tones  with  chords  of  thirds  or  fifths.  The  others  beat  large  bamboo 
drums  with  a  stick.  The  principle  of  the  Melanesian  drum  is  a  bamboo  cane 
or  a  hollow  stem  with  a  narrow  slit  on  the  thin  edges  of  which  it  is  beaten. 
Each  of  these  drums  is  one  size  smaller  than  the  next,  and  gives  a  note 
different  by  an  octave  from  that  of  the  next.  The  flute  is  forbidden  to  women, 
—indeed  superstition  says  that  they  die  if  they  see  it,  and  the  same  with  the 
bull-roarer.  Among  the  Tugeri  a  signal  whistle  is  found,  made  from  a  small 
coco-nut,  with  several  holes  bored  in  it. 


New  Hebridean  ornament  (enlarged). 


DRESS  AND    WEAPONS   OF  THE  MELANESIANS 


■zi'i 


The  dances  often  agree  even  in  details  with  those  of  the  Polynesians.  At 
funeral  festivities  they  dance  round  a  drum  with  a  human  countenance  to  represent 
the  departed.  Sometimes  the 
dancers  consider  themselves  to 
be  ghosts  ;  dancing  is  also  a 
diversion  of  ghosts.  The  indi- 
vidual movements  consist  of 
bowings  and  swayings,  or 
jumping  up  and  down  ;  but 
they  also  have  mimic  war- 
dances,  executed  by  two  ranks 
of  men  armed  with  spear  and 
shield.  Masks  are  worn  at 
these,  and  if  they  are  beast 
masks  we  get  an  idea  very  like 
that  of  the  Dance  of  Death. 

The  Melanesians  are  often 
spoken  of  as  among  the  races 
who  cannot  count  beyond 
three  or  five,  but  numerals  for 
ten  are  found  everywhere,  and 
in  New  Britain  the  money 
reckonings  extend  to  sums 
which  would  make  us  look  for 
numbers  higher  than  a  hundred. 
A  kind  of  knotted  cord-writing 
and  similar  aids  to  notation 
are  also  not  absent  here. 

In  the  calculation  of  time  and  the  observation  of  the  heavens,  some  groups 
of  the  Melanesians  have  much  the  same  knowledge  at  their  command  as  the  Poly- 
nesians have.  In  New  Guinea  the  year  is  divided  by  the  changes  of  the 
monsoon  ;  months  and  longer  periods  are  distinguished  according  to  the  labours 
of  the  field  ;  but  we  find  also  a  division  according  to  the  position  of  the  Pleiads, 
the  reappearance  of  which  in  the  northern  heaven  betokens  the  return  of  spring. 
A  large  number  of  constellations  denoted  as  the  Boat  with  its  Outrigger,  the  Bow- 
bender,  the  Bird,  the  Hunting  Brothers,  serve  to  obtain  bearings  in  navigation, 
and  to  indicate  the  time  of  night.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  navigation  of 
these  races  on  p.  i66. 

Of  writing  we  know  only  traces,  in  the  picture-writing  as  scratched  by  the 
New  Caledonians  on  bamboo,  or  engraved  by  the  Fijians  as  well  as  the  Tongans 
in  the  shape  of  little  figures  among  the  ornamentation  of  their  clubs. 


Bit  of  etched  design  on  a  coco-nut,  from  Babel  in  the  Solomons. 
(After  Codrington. ) 


§  6.  DRESS  AND  WEAPONS  OF  THE  MELANESIANS 

Clothing— Tattooing  and  painting— Dressing  of  the  hair— Ornament— Great  number  and  variety  of  weapons 
— Spears— Clubs — Stone  clubs— Axes— Bow  and  arrow— Smaller  weapons— Defensive  armour. 

The  clothing  of  the  Melanesians  seems  to  justify  Peschel's  law  that  clothing  varies 
among  men  inversely  as  the  darkness  of  their  colour.     The  darker  Melanesians 


224 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


are  in  general  less  clad  than  the  lighter  Polynesians.  Their  ornament  is  all  the 
richer  and  more  various,  and  the  woolly  hair  especially  brings  with  it  a  greater 
variety  of  hairdressing.  We  find  men  in 
Melanesia  very  scantily  clad,  and  there  are 
not  lacking  trustworthy  reports  of  some  who 
are  completely  naked.  The  Adamic  costume 
of  the  men  in  the  Banks  Islands,  however, 
standing  in  sharp  contrast  to  their  skill  in 
weaving  mats,  places  them  very  low  in  the 
estimation  of  their  neighbours,  though  among 
these  also,  so  far  as  they  are  Melanesians, 
limited  clothing  is  the  rule.  Where  clothing 
is  more  complete  we  are  sure  to  find  traces  of 
Polynesian  and  Malayan 
influence.  The  foundation 
of  the  Melanesian  man's 
dress  is  a  belt,  either 
platted  or  made  of  bark, 
passing  from  the  hips 
between  the  legs ;  while 
the  women  wear  one  or 
two  aprons  of  fibre  from 
grass,  palm,  or  pandanus 
leaves.  These  elements 
recur  everywhere,  and  the 
idea  of  what  is  becoming 
and  respectable  in  cloth- 
ing is  essentially  concen- 
trated upon  them.  But 
the  notions  of  modesty 
are  extremely  various. 
The  people  of  Massilia 
on  the  Finsch  coast  wear 
a  broad  bark  girdle  pass- 
ing twice  round   the  body 


Wigs  of  human  hair  worn  in  battle,  from  Vanna  Levu. 
Museum. ) 


(Frankfort  City 


Of 


Head-dress  lilce  an  eye-shade  from  New  Guinea- 
real  size.      (British  Museum.) 


a  higher  kind  of  dress,  which  may  be  called 
that  of  the  Polynesian  colonies, 
Fiji  affords  the  best  examples. 
Here  the  tapa  material  renders 
a  richer  style  of  clothing  possible. 
The  wrapping  which  passes  be- 
tween the  thighs  is  of  such 
breadth  and  length  that  it  ex- 
tends to  a  couple  of  hundred 
feet.  The  usual  measure  is  of  12 
to  20  feet ;  it  is  wound  several 
times  round  the  loins  in  such  a 
way  that  the  ends  hang  down  to 


-one-fifth 


the  knee  in  front,  and  lower  behind.      In  West  Melanesia,  also,  tapa  is  indeed 


DRESS  AND    WEAPONS  OF  THE  MELANESIANS 


225 


made  in  the  Southern  Solomon  Isles  from  the  paper  mulberry ;  in  the  New 
Hebrides  and  New  Guinea  from  the  sacred  fig-tree.  Instead  of  the  printed 
pattern,  as  shown  in  the  cut  on  p.  183,  we  here  iind  the  stuff  streaked  with 
colour  and  moistened  with  the  tongue  or  teeth. 

The  tattooing  in  Melanesia  is  only  in  isolated  instances  of  the  artistic  character 


Fiji  warrior  in  a  wig.     (From  the  Godeffroy  Album. ) 


found  among  the  Polynesians.  It  has  more  affinity  with  the  Australian  type  of 
cicatrised  wounds  than  with  the  Polynesian  punctures,  and  it  is  often  not  applied 
until  the  age  of  maturity.  Among  the  light-skinned  Motus  of  New  Guinea  we 
find  tattooing  in  patterns  recalling  those  of  Micronesia.  On  the  south  coast  of 
New  Guinea  Miklouho-Maclay  found  even  the  shaven  scalps  of  the  women  covered 
with  tattooing.  Where  there  are  indications  of  a  mixture  of  Melanesians  with 
Polynesians,  it  has  been  thought  that  the  races  may  be  distinguished  according 
to  their  respective  methods  of  tattooing.  For  example,  in  the  islands  off  the 
eastern   point   of  New   Guinea,   in    the   Solomon    Islands  (where   the    cicatrised 

Q 


226 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


tattooing  has  been  observed  only  in  Bougainville,  Isabel,  and  the  Southern 
Islands),  and  in  New  Ireland.  Men  and  women  are  often  differently  tattooed : 
in  girls  tattooing  indicates  that  they  have  reached  nubility  ;  in  men,  the  slaying 
of  a  child  is  one  of  the  things  announced  by  the  tattooing  of  the  breast  on  one 
side.  In  tattooing,  also,  East  and  West  Melanesia  represent  the  extremes  which 
in  the  central  parts  are  mingled. 

In   Fiji  the  puncturing  with  the  four  or  five-toothed  instrument  is   limited 

to  women,  and   in    them  to   par- 
ticular  parts — the   lower  part  of 
the     body     and     the     thigh,    the 
corner     of    the     mouth,    and    the 
finger.      It  has  a  religious  sugges- 
tion, and  is  enjoined  by  Ndengei. 
But  here,  too,  cicatrices  appear  in 
conjunction  with  it,  produced  as  a 
rule  by  means   of  shells.      In  cer- 
tain localities  of  West  Melanesia 
the   other    kinds   of  tattooing  are 
almost  excluded,  or  at  all  events 
reduced  to  a  minimum.     Among 
other  mutilations  of  the  body,  we 
get  distinct  reports  of  circumcision 
only    from     New    Caledonia,    the 
southern  New  Hebrides,  and  Fiji, 
which  appears  to  have   been   the 
starting  -  point     in     comparatively 
recent  times  of  its  extension  west- 
V/ard.      In    Finsch    Harbour   it  is 
performed  with  much  festivity,  the 
women    being   banished    into    the 
forest  until  their  boys'  wounds  are 
healed  ;  afterwards  the  patients  go 
to    live    there.      The    custom    of 
cutting  off  joints   of  the  finger  in 
times  of  mourning  or  sickness  is 
almost  universal.     To  go  with  the 
whole  or  half  of  the  face  and  the 
breast  painted  with  red  clay  is  a 

Nose-ornament,  breastplate,  and  arm-ring  of  boar's  tusks    from    P''^^'-^'^^    Usually    Confined    tO    men, 
New  Gmnea-one-eighth  real  size.      (Christy  Collection.)  as     also    is     that     of     blacking     the 

crU,^.  o   1     ..      iM      ,  ,     ,    ,  ^°^^  ^^'^'^  ^  kind  of  earth  which 

fmon.  th.  M  ;      .^^  '""t     ^^^  "°"'"  "'^°  "■''  occasionally  seen  blacked; 

W  fnd   K  ^  ■"  J^  '°  ^'  "  "^"  ""^  '"°"'-"'"^-      I"  ^-lil<-  enterprises    , 

ace  and  body  are  pamted  in  stripes  of  ^vhite,  yellow,  red,  and  black;  in  Fiji 
this  custom  has  been  brought  to  a  high  point  of  art ;  the  not  very  cleanly  Maclure 
i'apuas  are  reported  to  smear  their  bodies  with  clay. 

In   Melanesia  all  hair  is   sedulously  plucked  out  from  the  body    while  the 
treatment  of  the  hair  of  the  head  with  caustic  lime   is  quite  as  ge^e^al   as  in 


DUESS  AND    WEAPONS   OF  THE  MELANESIANS  227 

Polynesia,  at  times  carried  even  further.  In  Fiji  the  crisp  black  hair  is  towzled 
up,  and  great  pains  are  expended  upon  colouring  it  with  charcoal  or  lime  ;  then  it 
sometimes  surrounds  the  head  in  a  strong  turban-like  pad,  or  else  reminds  the 
observer  of  a  full-bottomed  wig,  as  also  in  New  Guinea  ;  while  at  times  it  hangs 
down  in  the  form  of  numerous  thin  strands  or  wisps.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the 
Anchorite  and  Solomon  Islands  the  hair  is  in  some  cases  shaven,  in  others  plaited 
into  top-knots  stuck  together  with  gum,  and  often  coloured  red,  black,  yellow,  or 
white,  but  constantly  adorned  with  feathers,  flowers,  shells,  or  tastefully  ornamented 
cones  of  bamboo.  White  parrot's  feathers  stuck  on  the  top  of  the  head  are  signs 
of  rank  ;  in  Malicollo  the  hair  is  dressed  in  porcupine  fashion,  wisps  as  thick  as 
the  quill  of  a  pigeon's  feather  being  wound  round  with  the  bast  of  a  kind  of 
creeper  ;  artificial  wigs  are  also  prepared  from  the  coloured  fibres  of  plants.  In 
Fiji,  persons  of  eminence  have  private  hair-curlers,  who  are  occupied  for  hours 
every  day  in  the  preparation  of  the  wigs.  The  geometrical  accuracy  of  the 
individual  details,  the  rounded  softness  of  the  outlines,  the  symmetrical  dyeing 
with  shiny  black,  dark  blue,  grey,  white,  red,  yellow,  have  often  been  mentioned 
with  eulogy.  Beside  hairdressing,  head-dresses  of  various  descriptions  occur  ;  the 
Hattams  of  New  Guinea  wear  a  little  cowl  with  coloured  feathers  woven  in,  and 
Cook  found  among  the  naked  New  Hebrideans  small  caps  of  woven  mat.  In 
Fiji  a  turban  of  white  masi,  from  which  a  piece  of  cloth  falls  down  at  the  back, 
or  two  lappets  over  the  ears,  is  indispensable  for  a  man  of  rank.  Open-work  caps 
made  of  a  piece  of  matting  adorned  with  strips  of  dark  bast  are  customary  in  New 
Ireland  and  New  Hanover  ;  woven  eye-shades  are  found  in  New  Guinea. 

A  great  part  of  the  wealth  of  these  races  consists  of  ornaments,  and  since 
these  find  extensive  employment  as  a  medium  of  exchange,  trade  tends  to 
increase  the  production  of  them.  The  greatest  amount  of  ornament  falls  to  the 
share  of  the  men  ;  the  younger  women  wear  little,  the  elder  go  almost  unadorned. 
For  instance,  the  eye  teeth  of  the  dog  are  held  in  special  esteem  among  the 
Melanesians  ;  but,  while  the  man  covers  his  entire  breastplate  with  them,  the  wife 
wears  at  most  one  or  two  in  her  ear.  Ears,  nose,  and  lips  are  bored  to  receive 
ornaments.  The  Papuas  of  Hood  Bay  wear  a  band  of  pearls  at  either  end  of  a 
thread  which  is  passed  round  the  head.  In  Makira,  Rietmann  saw  a  young 
flying-fox  used  as  a  lady's  ear-ornament,  with  one  foot  attached  to  the  lobe  of  the 
ear.  Among  the  Tugeri,  pigs'  bones  some  8  inches  long  are  worn  in  the  nose. 
Polynesian  influence  is  probably  to  be  seen  in  Sikayana,  if,  as  alleged,  nose  and 
ear  ornaments  are  not  in  use  there.  In  general,  the  employment  of  shells  in 
ornament  diminishes  as  we  proceed  eastward.  In  Fiji,  as  to  some  extent  even  in 
New  Britain,  whales'  or  cachalots'  teeth  turn  up  as  the  article  of  ornament  or 
value  that  is  most  in  demand.  They  occur  often  in  entire  necklaces.  Corre- 
sponding to  these  is  the  employment  in  New  Britain  and  elsewhere  of  shell-money 
in  the  form  of  gigantic  ear-pendants. 

Melanesians  wear  white  arm-rings,  some  4  inches  thick,  of  Trochus  shell  ;  in 
New  Guinea  these  serve  the  further  purpose  of  receptacles  for  the  cassowary-bone 
daggers.  They  are  laboriously  ground  out  on  sharp  splinters  of  coral-rock.  The 
Solomon  Islanders  wear  spiral  bands  of  a  liana  which  comes  from  Buka,  on 
the  left  arm,  as  a  protection  against  the  recoil  of  the  bowstring,  and  also  as 
insignia  of  a  chief ;  they  wear,  too,  combs  made  of  the  stiff  reddish-brown  stalks 
of  a  grass,  woven  together  with   fibre  in   elegant   patterns.     Feather -ornament 


228 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


displays  great  luxuriance  in  New  Hanover,  and  much  taste  is  shown  in  the 
combination  of  forms  and  colours  with  vegetable  fibres  and  beads  on  sticks.  For 
example,  a  delicately-formed  face  in  feather-mosaic  will  be  seen  forming  the  head 
of  a  hairpin.  In  New  Guinea  the  work  is  on  a  larger  scale,  and  loses  in  elegance, 
even  when  it  consists  of  an  entire  bird  of  paradise  on  a  stick,  as  is  found  at 
Astrolabe  Bay.  In  Tagai,  pouches  of  varnished  palm-leaf  are  made  to  preserve 
these  costly  adornments.  Favourite  gauds  in  Simbo,  Ulakua,  Choiseul,  and 
Guadalcanar  are  plaited  frontlets  with  large  white  shells,  or  chains  similarly  worn 
of  porpoise's  or  dog's  teeth.     A  rosette  of  yellow  and  red  cockatoo  or  parrot- 


Shell  plaques  for  adorning  the  breast  and  forehead     i    From  the  Solomon  Islands — one-third  real  size 
the  Admiralty  Islands — one-fourth  real  size.      (Christy  Collection. ) 


From 


feathers,  frequently  smartened  with  shells,  is  bound  on  the  forehead,  and  serves  at 
once  for  ornament  and  for  defence  ;  it  often  consists  of  a  thin  polished  piece  of 
Tridacna  gigas,  on  which  is  laid  a  piece  of  open  work  in  tortoise-shell.  Among 
the  Admiralty  Islanders  disks  of  shell  appear  in  great  numbers  as  breastplates, 
hung  from  the  neck.  Both  in  form  and  material  these  ornaments  testify  to  great 
assiduity,  to  which  the  high  esteem  in  which  they  are  held  corresponds.  They 
extend  from  Madagascar  to  Hawaii,  and  have  found  their  way  into  the  heart  of 
Africa.  From  them  taste  evolves  every  sort  of  combination.  Simple  necklaces, 
plaited  ,  from  variegated  straw  or  bast-fibres,  or  made  from  teeth,  even  human 
teeth,  berries,  fruits,  and  so  forth,  are  found,  as  well  as  more  costly  kinds. 
Among  New  Guinea  ornaments  boar's  teeth  play  the  most  prominent  part ;  in 


DRESS  AND    WEAPONS   OF  THE  MELANESIANS  229 

the  northern  parts  of  the  island  the  naturally-curved  tusks  being  the  decorative 
objects  most  in  demand.  Compared  vi^ith  these  the  neck-threads  of  plaited  grass, 
even  with  small  shells  or  seeds  strung  on  them,  are  inconspicuous  ;  but  the  chains 
of  human  teeth,  dogs'  incisors,  or  cut  shells  often  produce  quite  an  elegant  effect. 
In  the  Solomons,  chains  consisting  of  twenty  to  twenty -five  pieces  of  various 
coloured  shells,  mingled  with  human  teeth,  or  of  little  shells  strung  at  regular 
distances  on  coco-nut  fibre,  are  highly  esteemed.  In  these  instances  the  transi- 
tion from  ornament  to  currency  is  not  remote.  On  Florida,  in  the  Solomons, 
a  string  of  red,  white,  and  black  shells  seven  yards  long  or  so  is  the  price  of  a 
wife.  At  Finsch  Harbour  beads  of  small  polished  snail-shells  are  worn  round 
the  neck,  in  New  Britain  round  the  hips,  in  the  Admiralty  Islands  as  aprons. 
Finger-rings  of  silver,  pinchbeck,  or  gilt  brass  have  been  introduced  by  traders. 
The  Solomon  Islanders  carry  tobacco  and  other  small  articles  in  their  plaited 
arm -bands;  while  in  Nissan  the  people  invariably  carry  their  betel -lime  in  a 
small  coco-nut  or  gourd  fastened  by  a  short  string  to  the  left  little  finger. 

Men  are  seldom  seen  in  Melanesia  without  weapons.  Every  group  of  islands 
has  its  own  patterns,  though  the  actual  weapons — spear,  bow,  and  club — are 
everywhere  the  same.  They  are,  however,  unequally  distributed,  or  else  other 
weapons  of  more  limited  distribution  occur.  The  weapons  of  Melanesia 
unquestionably  are  some  of  the  choicest  productions  of  dexterity  and  taste  found 
among  the  lower  races,  as  our  plate  of  Melanesian  and  Micronesian  weapons  and 
utensils  will  show.  Their  neatness,  variety  of  form,  and  actual  number  are 
wonderful.  It  is  an  unexplained  departure  from  the  rule  that,  on  the  single  island 
of  Api  or  Tasika  in  the  New  Hebrides,  no  weapons  are  carried. 

In  Melanesia,  again,  the  most  esteemed  and  most  generally-used  weapon  is 
the  spear,  the  forms  of  which,  as  Strauch  says  when  speaking  of  the  Admiralty 
Islands,  are  as  various  as  the  faces  of  the  inhabitants.  Plain  but  carefully-worked 
javelins,  as  found  in  New  Caledonia,  may  be  regarded  as  the  simplest  representa- 
tives of  this  weapon  ;  thongs  of  plaited  tapa  are  used  in  the  manipulation  of  them. 
But  the  most  finished  productions  of  the  New  Caledonian  armourers  belong  equally 
to  the  spear-class.  Curiously  enough  it  is  not  the  "  business  end  "  of  the  weapon, 
but  the  shaft,  to  which  the  greatest  attention  is  devoted.  The  fundamental  type 
remains  a  staff,  reaching  sometimes  a  length  of  10  feet,  and  pointed  at  both  ends. 
The  modifications  consist  merely  in  the  addition  of  a  carved  human  head,  repeated 
as  often  as  four  times,  below  the  point ;  or  in  wrapping  the  shaft  in  the  same 
region  with  whitish  tapa  or  bat's  hair ;  a  stick  wound  with  string,  and  with  a  long 
string  attached  to  it,  is  bound  into  this  ;  while,  in  addition  to  the  wooden  point,  a 
ray's  spine  is  let  in  to  form  a  secondary  point.  In  New  Britain  they  wind  simple 
bast  round  it,  and  attach  a  tassel  of  vegetable  fibre,  ornamented  with  feathers. 
The  butt  is  sometimes  provided  with  a  hexagonal  knob,  or  terminated  with  the 
bone  of  a  cassowary  or  a  man.  Of  these  spears  there  are  two  of  larger  size 
intended  for  throwing.  In  New  Ireland  the  brown  polished  carved  kind  are  more 
frequent  than  in  New  Hanover,  and  near  Port  Sulphur  we  meet  with  spears 
decked  with  feathers  and  human  bones  like  those  of  New  Britain.  As  a  rule 
the  spears  are  slim  and  pliant ;  but  a  broadening  of  the  head,  accompanied  with 
perforation,  occurs,  especially  in  Fiji,  under  various  patterns.  On  the  whole, 
however,  where  the  spear  is  ornamented  the  head  remains  simple.  Here,  again, 
the    Solomon    Islands    show  the   most   advanced  development.       Besides   spears 


230 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Weapons  from  the  Admiralty  Islands  :    .,    2.   Spears  with   obsidian 
heads.      3.  Javehn  with  the  same.     4-8.   Spear  heads,      g-n 
Obsidian  knives.     12.    Knife  of  mother-of-pearl  shell 
tenth,  4-12,  one-sixth  of  real  size.     (Christy  Collection. 


-3,  one- 


ornamented     with     pieces     of 
mother-of-pearl  fixed  in  mastic, 
the  islanders  have  their  spear- 
heads  artistically  carved  from 
human  arm-bones  or  the  lower 
jaw     of     the     toucan.       New 
Guinea  possesses  both  spears 
pointed  with   cassowary  bone 
and   simple   sharpened   shafts. 
The    former    are    heavy    war- 
weapons,  for  thrusting,  lo  feet 
long  or  more  ;   the  latter  light, 
and  intended  chiefly  for  fishing. 
Unornamented     spears     with 
points      toothed      like      saws, 
either  two  or  four-edged,  repre- 
sent hunting  or  fishing  imple- 
ments    rather     than .    warlike 
weapons,  and  form  the  transi- 
tion to  the  fish-spears  with  four 
or   five    barbs,   attached    to  a 
heavy,    roughly -worked    shaft 
by    means    of    plaited    palm- 
fibres.      Spears  with   opposite 
rows    of   barbs   occur  only  in 
Fiji   and   the    New    Hebrides. 
There  the  heads  are  perforated, 
forked,    jagged,    wavy,     lami- 
nated— in     a    word,    wrought 
into  every  sort  of  shape.     Fre- 
quently they  consist  from  end 
to    end    of   fine   wood,   which 
exactly  in  the  heaviest  places 
is  carved   into  a  piece   barely 
attached.      Spears  of  this  kind 
are    intended   more    as    orna- 
mental weapons,  to  gratify  the 
bearer's  pride,  than  for  the  foe. 
In  the  Admiralty  Islands 
the  abundance  of  obsidian  and 
bitumen  affords  the  means  for 
a  development   in   the  manu- 
facture     of     stone     weapons, 
which  in  one  direction  supple- 
ments   the    general    level     at 
which  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Guinea  and  the  neighbouring 
islands  stand  in  respect  of  this 


DRESS  AND    WEAPONS  OF   THE  MELANESIANS 


231 


art.      Here,  too,  spears  have    reached   an    extraordinary  perfection.      The   head 

consists  always  of  the  choicest  pieces  of  a  granular  striped  basalt,  and  is  attached 

to  the  shaft  by  means  of  a  copious  layer,  of  bitumen  and  string  wound  close  with 

great  care.     The  bitumen  bed  which  gradually  thins  off  towards  the  handle  is 

either  decorated  in  simple  geometrical  lines  with  the  spaces  coloured  black,  red, 

and  white,  and  set  with  little 

shells,  or  perforated  with  a 

diamond  -  shaped     opening. 

The  shaft  is  always  rough, 

just  as  it  grew  on  the  tree, 

and  frequently   weak    also. 

From  New  Caledonia  to  the 

New     Hebrides,     the     Fiji 

Islands,     and     from     New 

Guinea,     we      get     missile 

spears  with  long  points  of 

hard   wood    or    bone.      On 

the     shaft    we     may    often 

notice     appendages     which 

may  be  of  use  in  hurling  it. 

In     some     parts     of     New 

Guinea,    as    Venus     Point, 

Hatzfeld    Harbour,  and    up 

the  Empress  Augusta  river, 

we     find     throwing  -  sticks. 

The  throwing-thong  of  New 

Caledonia    arises    from    the 

same  idea. 

Clubs  are  among  the 
most  popular  weapons  in 
Melanesia  ;  like  the  spears, 
they  find  their  greatest 
development  in  the  east- 
ward islands,  particularly 
in  Fiji  and  the  Solomons. 
Certain  parts  of  New  Guinea, 
as  Maclure  Gulf,  possess  no 
clubs.  These  weapons  serve 
for  striking  or  for  guarding 
arrows  and  javelins,  and  in 
general  they  form  the  accompaniment  of  every  expedition.  Hence  their  double 
position  as  insignia  of  rank  and  weapons.  They  are  often  so  heavy  and  shape- 
less, and  yet  wrought  with  such  an  expenditure  of  labour,  patience,  and  ingenuity, 
that  they  must  be  intended  for  some  purposes  other  than  fighting  only.  The  clubs 
of  celebrated  warriors  in  Fiji  used  to  have  names  of  honour  or  pet  names  ;  in  their 
shapes  some  seem  to  be  connected  with  the  four-edged  Tongan  type,  others  with 
the  paddle-shaped  weapons  of  Tonga  and  Samoa.  A  peculiar  form  is  the 
imitation  of  a  flint  musket,  lock  and  all  ;  another  is  a  point  projecting  from  a 


New  Caledonian  clubs,  and  a  painted  dance  club  (a)  from  the  New 
Hebrides.     (Vienna  Museum. ) 


232  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

prickly  fruit.     In  New  Caledonia  the  most  frequent  form  of  club  is  the  simplest, 
namely  a  bludgeon  merely  taken  from  a  kn9tty  branch.     The  first  stage  towards 
finishing  lies  in  the  making  of  a  sharp  edge  round  the  knob,  the  next  in  childish 
striped  ornaments ;  or  a  favourite  plan  is  to  jag  the  end  in  a  star  shape.     A 
peculiar  club  is  one  in  the  shape  of  a  bird's  head,  which  here  replaces  that  used 
in  Mota  to  open  bread-fruit.     But  in  all  an  easily  recognisable  difference  from 
those  of  Fiji  and  Tonga  is  formed  by  the  grip  which  thickens  abruptly  at  the 
handle  end.      Together  with  this  goes  the  splicing  of  the  handle  with  string,  ribbon, 
palm  fibres,  even   dry  fern.      In  the  case  of   the   richest  or  most  distinguished 
persons   the   throwing-cords   are   fitted   with   reddish   brown    knots.      This   ulti- 
mately led   to  the  reddish  brown  shaggy  ornament  as  found  also  on  spears.      In 
recent  times  it  has   been   imitated   by  means   of   imported   red   wool,  even   by 
miserable  shreds  of  cotton,  a  melancholy  symbol  of  the  decay  of  the  old   glory  of 
the  Kanakas.     The  clubs  in  the  Solomon    Islands    depart  very  little   from  the 
paddle  form  ;  they  have  a  projecting  middle  line  resembling  the  rib  of  a  leaf,  and 
a  handle  with  a  shoulder.      Further  decorations,  such  as  ears   at  the  sides  of  the 
paddle  blade,  or  a  sharper  shoulder  where  this  passes  into   the  shaft,  are  of  a 
modest  character.      Another  type  has  arisen   through  the   bending  of  the  blade 
whereby  either  the  middle  rib  is  thrown  into  strong  prominence,  or  an  opportunity 
is  given  for  more  delicate  ornamentation  by  means  of  zig-zag  lines,  or  a  spike-like 
angle  juts  out  from  the  vertex  of  the  curve.     The  handles   are  decorated  with 
ornaments  of  every  kind,  carvings  of  squatting  idols,  pretty  woven  work  of  coloured 
bast  in  tasteful  patterns;    while  in  the  flat  straight  clubs  the  blade  is  polished, 
smooth  and  sharpened  at  both  edges,  and  the  handle  bound.     Clubs  from  the  New 
Hebrides  have  a  plaited  sling,  so  that  they  can  be  carried  over  the  shoulder  ;  while 
in  New  Britain  we  find  rings  of  fibre  or  plaiting  which  are  said  to  be  mementos  of 
slain  enemies.      In   New  Guinea  and  New  Britain  we  meet  with  a  weapon  like  a 
"  morning  star,"  half  club,  half  axe ;  upon  a  sharpened  staff,  a  yard  long,  a  disk- 
shaped  stone  is  fitted  near  the  upper  end,  and  above  this  a  bunch  of  red  and  yellow 
feathers.     This  reminds  us  of  the  star-shaped  stones  with  a  hole  through  them 
found  in   Peru ;    besides  these,  clubs  occur  without  a  stone  ;   others  have  a  three- 
cornered  sharp-cut  head.     There  are  also  round  ones  of  black  heavy  polished 
wood,  with  engraved  ornamentation  about  the  head  ;  and  flat  ones  made  of  an 
equally  heavy  browner  wood  cut  into  the  shape  of  a  spoon  handle. 

The  Melanesian  axes  are  not  perforated,  and  remind  us  also  in  their  shape 
of  the  Polynesian  stone  blades.  They  are  often  beautifully  ground.  They  are 
often  fastened  upon  or  into  the  helve  by  regular  crossed  layers  of  rush  or  string, 
but  sometimes,  especially  ia  West  Melanesia,  the  helve  itself  is  perforated  and 
so  a  new  form  arises  with  the  blade  as  a  rule  narrower  and  rounder.  Besides 
stone,  shell  also  occurs  in  a  similar  shape  as  a  material  for  the  blade  in  Santa 
Cruz  and  New  Guinea,  in  the  Torres  and  Banks  Islands.  Iron  was  no  doubt 
occasionally  imported  before  the  European  epoch ;  and  in  western  New  Guinea 
intercourse  with  the  Malays  has  made  it  common.  How  quickly  it  takes  hold 
we  may  learn  from  the  fact  that  from  New  Guinea  to  Fiji,  up  to  the  present  day, 
no  article  of  trade  is  in  such  demand.  It  is  interesting  also  to  notice  that  even 
the  natives  who  have  only  been  for  a  few  years  in  frequent  contact  with  Europeans, 
imitate  the  iron  axe  in  wood,  even  to  the  trade  mark,  while  their  stone  axes  have 
lost  the  handle,  and  have  been  degraded  to  the  rank  of  pestles.      In  a  similar 


WEAPONS  AND  UTENSILS  FROM  MELANESIA  AND  MICRONESIA. 


3- 
J. 

7,8. 

9- 

lO,  n. 

12,   13. 

Obsidian  jAvelin :  Admiralty  Is- 
lands. 

Paddle :  Solomon  Islands. 

Chief's  spear:  New  Caledonia. 

Mancatcner :  New  Guinea. 

Lances :  New  Britain^  (The  handle 
of  S  is  made  of  bone,  probably 
that  of  the  cassowary.) 

Arrows :  Humboldt  Bay.  _ 

War  mask  :  New  Caledonia. 

Arrows :  Humboldt  Bay. 

Lances  :  New  Hanover,  (iz  of 
bamboo.) 


14.  Spear  with  j>oint  of  cassowary  bone: 

New  Guinea. 

15.  Mace    used    in  dances :    Bougatn' 

ville. 

16.  Sword-club :  New  Britain. 

17.  Club,   handle    covered  with   grass 

matting  :  Solomon  Islandsv 

18.  Obsidian   javelin  :    Admiralty    Is- 

lands. 

19.  Jade  axe  :  New  Caledonia. 

20.  Breast  ornament :  New  Caledonia. 
2X.  Necklace  of  cachalot's  teeth:  Fiji. 


22.  Breast    ornament :     Humboldt 

Bay. 

23.  Prickly  helmet :    Kingsmill  Is- 

lands. 1   <iue4a 

24,25,26.  Masks:  New  Ireland. '(sSwea 
as  decoration  of  a  tenmleji 
C7.  Mat  with  woven  patterh':  'Mort- 
lock  Island  in  the  Carolines. 

28.  Calabash    for    betel-lime  i   Ad- 

miralty Islands. 

29.  Frontlet :  New  Guinea* 

30.  Cap  :  New  Caledonia. 


Printed  try  the  Bibliograplusclies  Instttut.  leipzig 

WEAPONS  AND  UTENSILS  FROM  MELANESIA  AND  MICRONESIA. 


DRESS  AND    WEAPONS  OF  THE  MELANESIANS 


233 


way  must  have  arisen  the  musket 
shape  for  clubs  and  the  like.  In 
some  axes  the  blade  is  set  at  an  angle 
with  a  view  to  more  convenient  work- 
ing when  hewing  out  the  interior  of 
the  canoes.  Fijian  axes  are  in  the 
Polynesian  style,  but  not  so  large.  In 
the  New  Hebrides  and  the  Solomons 
we  have  smaller  wedge-shaped  rounded 
stone  hatchets,  sometimes  wider,  some- 
times narrower,  tending  in  one  place 
to  the  oval,  in  another  to  the  triangular 
shape.  In  Isabel  and  San  Christoval 
the  blades  are  from  2  J  to  8  inches 
long,  of  a  greenish  gray  colour,  tri- 
angular or  tongue -shaped,  with  a 
ground  edge.  The  tongue  and  oval 
shapes  appear  in  an  extreme  form  in 
New  Caledonia.  For  the  broad  and 
quite  circular  hatchets  jade  afforded 
the  material.  Artistically  pretty  pat- 
terns are  either  stitched  or  woven  into 
the  binding  of  the  handles.  New 
Ireland  has  ceremonial  axes  with 
beautifully  carved  helves. 

Bows  and  arrows  are  frequent  but 
not  universal.     With  some  gaps  in  its 


■ 


Bow  from  the  Solomon  Islands  (Berlin  Museum). 
Guinea — one-tenth  real  size  (Christy  Collection). 
(Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig). 


n.  Bow  and  arrows  from  North-west  New 
3.   Arrow-heads  from  the  Solomon  Islands 


,^4  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


distribution,  the  possession  of  the  bow  distinguishes  the  Melanesians  from  their 
neighbours  to  north,  east,  and  south  ;  yet  without  entitling  us  to  speak  of  the 
bow  as  a  characteristic  of  the  Papuan  race.  The  forms  are  like  those  of  Eastern 
"  Indonesia."  They  are  long  bows  with  strong,  slightly  bent,  often  fluted,  staves 
of  bamboo  or  palm-wood  ;  the  string  of  vegetable  material,  usually  rattan  is 
firmly  looped  to  the  ornamental  end,  and  fastened  in  New  Guinea  with  a  pad  of 
rattan  in  the  Solomon  Islands  with  resin.  In  New  Ireland  and  New  Caledonia  bows 
and  arrows  are  not  in  use  ;  but  in  New  Britain,  Port  Sulphur,  the  southern  islands 
of  the  Solomon  group,  the  New  Hebrides,  the  Banks  and   Loyalty   Islands,  they 

are  known,  and  in  some 
parts  are  common.  In  the 
New  Hebrides  especially 
they  are  highly  developed. 
The  arrows  of  the  Solomon 
Islanders  are  the  finest 
of  any.  They  are  made 
;  of  a  reed,  with  a  head  of 
hard   wood,  either  simply 

Dagger  of  cassowary  bone,  from  North-west  New  Guinea— one-fourth  real     ^,„^^^„^j        .„        „        t^nmf 

size.    (Christy  Collection.)  sharpened      to     a      point 

or  else  artistically  carved 
into  barbs  of  wood,  bone,  or  teeth,  in  imitation  of  the  spear-heads.  The  shaft  is 
decorated  with  elegant  hatched  work,  put  on  so  as  artfully  to  indicate  the  knots  in 
the  reed.  The  place  where  head  and  shaft  join  is  bound  with  bast,  the  point  fre- 
quently covered  with  a  yellow  wrapping,  it  is  said,  to  denote  that  it  is  poisoned. 
It  is  a  curious  instance  of  division  of  labour  that  all  the  beautifully  wrought 
arrows  of  the  Solomons  are  carried  from  the  little  island  of  Nissan  in  the  extreme 
coast  of  the  group,  together  with  pigs,  to  Buka,  and  thence  traded  off  for  boats, 
arrows,  and  earthenware.  In  Ugi  and  Biu  near  San  Christoval  arrows  are  used 
having  rings  of  palm-leaf  at  the  butt-end  of  the  shaft,  and  no  notch  to  take  the 
string.  In  the  Admiralty  Islands  small  arrow-like  javelins  are  hurled  with  a 
thong.  A  Melanesian  bow  of  uncertain  origin  in  the  Vienna  Museum  is  bound 
with  bast  at  both  ends,  to  prevent  the  string  from  slipping;  this  being  made  of 
t^\isted  liana  and  strengthened  in  the  middle  with  bark.  We  are  reminded  of  the 
rattan  pads  in  New  Guinea  bows. 

As  a  rule  the  arrow-head  is  smooth,  but  barbs  are  also  met  with  ;  in  fish-arrows 
as  many  as  four.  From  this  to  fish-spears  is  a  short  step.  Arrows  with  a  shell 
for  head  are  used  in  Malayta  to  stun  birds.  In  the  Banks  Islands  ornamental 
arrows  serve  as  a  medium  of  exchange.  Somewhat  exceptional  is  a  quiver  of 
bark  and  rattan -plait  from  New  Guinea.  Poisoning  of  arrows  is  believed  to 
occur.  In  the  New  Hebrides  cadaveric  poisons  and  euphorbia  juice  are  used, 
while  in  New  Guinea  the  Hattams  smear  their  arrow-heads  with  a  dark  brown 
vegetable  poison  called  umla ;  which,  however,  must  not  be  confused  with  the 
use  of  resin  as  a  protective  varnish  for  wooden  arrows.  Experiments  with 
poisoned  arrows  have  often  failed  to  produce  any  result,  and  in  many  cases  the 
"  poisoning "  must  be  regarded  only  as  a  magical  rite.  Deadly  effects  are  also 
ascribed  to  arrow-heads  of  human  bone,  and  orders  for  these  articles  are  still 
given  freely.  One  of  the  appliances  of  archery  in  the  New  Hebrides  is  a  wooden 
hand-guard  some  5  inches  broad.     This  is  slipped  over  the  wrist  like  a  ring,  and 


DRESS  AND    WEAPONS  OF  THE  MELANESIANS 


235 


protects  the  hand  from  the  recoil  of  the  bow-string.  The  spiral  liana  bandages 
a  foot  long  used  in  Buka,  and  the  plaited  "  braces "  covering  half  the  forearm 
found  on  the  Fly  River,  doubtless  have  the  same  purpose ;  while  the  braces  and 
greaves  of  plaited  bast  in  the  Anchorite  Islands  are  as  much  ornamental  as  pro- 
tective. 

The  natives  of  New  Britain,  the  New  Hebrides,  New  Caledonia,  and  Fiji,  use 
slings  for  missile  purposes.  In  New  Caledonia  and  Niue  the  carefully  wrought 
sling-stones,  of  a  pointed  oval  shape,  are  carried  in  a  net  bag,  fastened  at  the 


•     1.    Carved  dance-shield  from  east  New  Guinea — one-fifth  real  size.      2.   Shield  from  Teste  in  New  Guinea — 

one-tenth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection. ) 

lower  end  by  buttons,  and  hence  easily  emptied.  The  sling  is  a  simple  cord, 
doubled  in  the  middle  to  form  a  seat  for  the  stone.  It  is  unknown  in  New 
Ireland  and  the  Solomons  ;  while  in  Tanna  the  boys  use  slings  where  their  elders 
employ  bows  and  spears.  The  Fijians  have  also  short  throwing-clubs,  with  a 
deeply  shouldered  head,  like  the  induku  of  the  Kaffirs.  The  killing-clubs  of 
Malayta  are  stronger  weapons  of  the  same  kind,  having  a  carved  handle,  with  a 
lump  of  pyrites  at  the  lower  end  contained  in  a  web  of  bast.  To  this  class' 
belong  the  instruments  like  staves,  over  a  yard  long,  used  in  New  Caledonia, 
originally  nothing  but  pointed  cudgels  with  a  grip  for  the  hand. 

Even  before  the  age  of  iron,  knives  and  daggers  were  used  in  hand-to-hand  fight- 
ing, either  formed  of  broken-off  spear-heads  or  poniards  of  bone.     Those  from  the 


I.  Wooden  shield,  bound  w'nh  plaited  rattan, 
with  black  and  white  pattern,  froni 
Friedrich-^\'ilhelm■s  Harbour.  2.  Carved 
shield  from  Hatzfeld  Harbour.  3. 
Wooden  battle-shield  from  Astrolabe  Bay! 


f/J  4-  Wooden  battle-shield  from  Tro- 
briand.  5.  Motu-motu  shield  from 
I'reshwater  Bay.  One-twelfth  real 
size.  (Berlin  Museum  of  Eth- 
nology. ) 


DJiESS  AND    WEAPONS  OF  THE  MELANESIANS  237 

Admiralty  Islands  are  conspicuous  by  their  breadth  at  the  point  where  the  blade 
passes  into  the  artistically  engraved  handle.  The  so-called  daggers  made  of  ray- 
stings  are  really  files.  Not  uncommonly  the  handle  itself  is  pointed  like  a 
dagger.  The  poniards  of  bird-bone  (mostly  a  cassowary's  leg-bone),  frequent  in 
New  Guinea  and  the  neighbourhood,  are  simple  enough ;  the  thick  end  with  the 
joint  serves  as  grip,  the  other  being  split  and  worked  to  a  point.  Ornament  is 
rare,  and  limited  to  very  simple  scratched  work,  owing  to  the  hardness  of  the 
bone.  A  finish,  rare  among  races  in  this  stage,  is  given  by  wrapping  spear-heads 
and  knife-blades  in  sheaths  of  palm-spathe,  as  shown  in  the  cut  on  p.  230.  In 
conclusion  we  may  mention  the  caltrops,  used  in  Fiji  and  New  Guinea,  made  of 
sharp  splinters  of  bamboo  stuck  in  the  ground. 

The  employment  of  defensive  arms  is  limited.  In  Fiji,  the  New  Hebrides, 
New  Ireland,  New  Hanover,  and  the  Admiralty  Isles,  shields  are  wholly  absent. 
Among  the  Solomon  Islanders  we  first  meet  with  elongated  shields  of  plaited 
reed  or  bamboo  ;  the  reeds  placed  longitudinally  and  woven  together  with  fibre, 
while  decorative  patterns  are  woven  in  with  black  fibre,  and  pieces  of  mother-of- 
pearl  often  applied  in  regular  figures.  The  grip  and  guards  for  the  hands  at 
the  back  are  made  of  strips  of  palm-leaf.  An  extraordinary  development, 
reminding  us  of  Central  Africa,  is  found  in  the  shields  of  eastern  New  Guinea 
and  the  islands  to  the  east,  where  specimens  occur  of  great  size,  weighing  up  to 
22  lbs.  and  beautifully  decorated  ;  circular,  oval,  or  rectangular,  flat  or  hollow, 
made  of  wood  or  plaited,  together  with  the  narrow  Malayan  kind  from  Salawatti. 
The  ornamentation  is  original,  being  sometimes  symmetrical,  sometimes  the  reverse. 
The  narrow  Moluccan  shields  with  shell-trimming  have  been  imported,  but  have 
spread  no  further.  Cuirasses  are  found  on  the  north  and  south  coasts  of  New 
Guinea. 

No  race  possesses  such  a  luxuriance  of  fancy  in  the  case  of  weapons 
and  similar  articles  whose  purpose  is  narrowly  limited.  In  the  ceremonial 
axes  of  New  Ireland  the  stone  blade  completely  disappears  beneath  the  acces- 
sories ;  faces,  lizards,  birds,  remind  us  of  the  masks  coming  from  the  same 
region.  Social  relations,  religion,  festivals,  partially  explain  this  ;  they  presume 
the  existence  of  numerous  insignia  of  rank,  and  as  may  be  easily  understood, 
weapons  were  the  first  things  selected  for  this  purpose.  Much  feeling  for  form, 
much  industry  must  have  gone  to  the  making  of  the  decorative  axes  from  the 
D'Entrecasteaux  Islands,  shown  on  p.  182,  with  their  large  finely-ground  stone 
blades.  Without  a  comparative  survey  of  allied  objects,  it  would  often  be 
impossible,  even  in  the  case  of  those  which  by  reason  of  their  curves  or  sharper 
indentations  look  like  flaming  swords  or  horrible  instruments  of  torture,  to 
decide  whether  these  weapons  were  evolved  from  clubs,  paddles,  or  swords.  But 
when  the  passion  for  ornament  assumes  such  dimensions  as  we  see  in  the  repre- 
sentation on  p.  235  of  a  carved  wooden  shield  froni  New  Guinea,  we  are  reminded 
of  the  exuberant  fancy  of  nature  in  shaping  sea-monsters  or  creeping  plants. 
There  is  all  the  flavour  of  the  tropics  in  them. 


238  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


§  7.  LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD   IN  OCEANIA 

Similarities  and  coincidences  in  labour  and  implements  of  labour — Hunting  and  fishing — Agriculture  and  its 
implements — Food  and  stimulants,  betel,  kava,  tobacco — Architecture  and  plan  of  villages 

As  good  wood-carvers  the  Micronesians  surpass  many  of  their  kindred  in  the 
East  Pacific  Islands.  They  know  the  trick  of  patiently  adding  to  their  dishes 
coat  after  coat  of  resinous  lacquer  till  a  durable  skin  is  formed.  Their  wooden 
ware  consists  of  plates,  bowls,  and  great  dishes,  all  painted  a  beautiful  red,  and  inlaid 
with  mother-of-pearl ;  flat  plates  and  deep  bowls  are  found  in  the  very  poorest 
abodes.  The  people  of  Fakaafo  carved  cylindrical  boxes  out  of  single  pieces  of 
wood,  with  covers  or  even  close-fitting  lids,  in  which  they  keep  their  fishing- 
tackle.  In  Pelew  every  native  is  expert  in  the  handling  of  his  little  axe  ;  but 
house  and  boat-building  is  carried  out  by  masters  in  the  craft.     This  multifarious 


Wooden  dish  from  Hawaii.     (British  Museum. ) 

dexterity  of  the  Micronesians  is  the  point  where  the  introduction  of  European 
goods  has  caused  the  greatest  falling  off. 

But  the  productions  of  Polynesia  also  testify  to  great  handiness,  and  expert 
craftsmen  hold  a  good  position.  In  Tonga  and  Samoa  carpenters  are  regarded 
as  artists,  and  form  a  guild  with  sacerdotal  rank.  The  perfection  of  the  methods 
of  labour  led  to  the  division  of  labour.  Thus  in  Hawaii  there  were  builders  and 
roofers,  boat -builders  and  carvers,  whose  productions  were  articles  of  trade. 
Armourers  and  net-makers  sometimes  also  formed  separate  trades.  Cook  notices 
the  chiefs'  «z/«-cups  as  the  most  remarkable  pieces  of  carved  work  in  "  Owhyhee '' ; 
they  are  perfectly  round,  8  to  12  inches  in  diameter,  and  beautifully  polished, 
and  have  little  human  figures  in  various  attitudes  as  supporters.  Quite  a  peculiar 
style  of  execution  appears  in  a  Hermes-shaped  idol  from  Hawaii,  now  in  the 
Berlin  Museum,  made  almost  in  life-size  from  the  wood  of  the  bread-fruit  tree, 
with  pegs  of  hard  wood  let  in  forming  dots.  It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  assert  that 
the  Polynesians  have  no  pottery.  The  Easter  Islanders  are  skilful  at  it.  On 
Namoka,  Cook  found  earthenware  pots,  which  seemed  to  have  been  long  in  use, 
and  the  Tonga  group  produces  porous  vessels.  In  Micronesia,  too,  pottery  has 
been  known  from  early  times. 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


239 


Of  the  mode  in  which  the  bark-cloth,  known  as  tapa  or  gnatu,  is  prepared 
Mariner  gives  the  following  account :  A  circular  cut  is  made  with  a  shell  in  the 
bark  above  the  root  of  the  tree  ;  the  tree  is  broken  off,  and  in  a  few  days,  when  the 
stem  is  half-dry,  the  bark  and  bast  are  separated  from  it.  The  bast  is  then  cleaned 
and  macerated  in  water,  after  which  it  is  beaten  with  the  ribbed  club  on  a  wooden 
block.  This  beating  enlivens  a  village  in  Tonga  as  threshing  does  in  Europe. 
In  half  an  hour  the  piece  will  have  changed  in  shape  from  a  strip  almost  to  a 
square.  The  edges  are  snipped  with  shells,  and  a  large  number  of  the  pieces 
are  drawn  separately  over  a  semi-cylindrical  wooden  stamp,  on  which  the  pattern, 
worked  in  coco-fibre,  is  stretched  and  smeared  with  a  fluid  at  once  adhesive  and 
colouring.  On  each  a  second  and  third  layer  is  placed  ;  and  the  piece,  three 
layers  thick,  is  coloured  more  strongly  in  the  parts  which  are  thrown  into  relief 
by  the  inequalities  of  the  bed.     Others  are  annexed  to  it  both  at  the  side  and 


...^a 


Mats  from  Tongatabu.     (Vienna  Ethnographical  Museum.) 


the  end,  until  pieces  a  yard  wide,  and  20  to  25  yards  long,  are  produced.  For 
printing  their  kapa  (as  they  call  it)  the  Hawaiians  used  sticks  broadened  at  the 
end,  and  carved  with  figures  in  relief,  and  drew  lines  on  the  stuff  with  a  wooden 
comb.  Some  of  the  most  remarkable  patterns  of  Polynesian  tapa  from  that 
portion  of  Cook's  collection  which  is  now  at  Vienna,  are  represented  on  our 
coloured  plate.  The  tints  are  black,  white,  and  reddish  brown  ;  the  patterns, 
with  the  exception  of  a  dotted  one  which  seldom  occurs,  are  rectilinear.  European 
influence  has  unluckily  not  improved  them.  Mats  from  the  Gilberts  and 
Marshalls  show  a  special  pattern  for  each  island,^  displaying  a  relatively  good 
standard  of  taste.  The  women  of  Micronesia,  in  Ruk,  Mortlock,  and  Nukuor, 
weave  a  fabric  from  the  fibres  of  a  Musa  and  a  Hibiscus.  The  looms,  or  rather 
frames,  are  like  those  of  the  Malays.  The  Gilbert  and  Marshall  Islanders  are 
clever  at  weaving  mats  ;  the  inhabitants  of  Ponape  sew  their  mats  ;  the  women 
of  Ponap^  understand  basket-weaving,  while  the  ropes  which  their  husbands  make 
from  coco-fibre  are  famous.  From  the  Gilbert  Islands  come  charming  covered 
baskets  and  fans  of  different  sorts.  The  long  tough  fibres  of  the  PJiormium  ienax, 
which  grows  from  6  to  10  feet  high,  stimulated  the  Maoris  to  the  weaving  of 
mats,   affording  a   substitute   for  tapa  of  many  and   various   descriptions.       Bast 

'  [So  to  this  day  many  Alpine  valleys  have  their  own  pattern  for  home-spun  and  home-woven  cloth,  recog- 
nised sometimes  even  in  quite  remote  districts.] 


240 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Stone  pestles  from  Hawaii — one-fourth  real  size. 
Vienna  Museum. ) 


(Cook  Collection, 


mats  with  borders  of  feathers  woven  in  are  made  in    Samoa.      Cook   brought 
some  of  the  prettiest  plaited  work  from  the  Tonga   Islands  :   pouches,  wooden 
vessels  covered  with  plaited  work  and  the  like  ;  large  mats    are   designed  with 
stripes  of  dark-coloured  bast  and  adorned  with  trimmings  woven  on.      A  charac- 
teristic   Tongan    object   is 
the  fly  whisk,  which  is  at 
the  same  time  one  of  the 
king's  insignia.     The  fans 
of  plaited   bast  also  show 
pretty  shapes  ;  they  belong 
to  the  toilet  of  Polynesians 
of     all     ages.        A    great 
variety    of    straw    plaiting 
is   produced  at  present  in 
Hawaii.      Interesting   also 
are  the  netting  needles,  one 
of  which  exists  in  the  Cook 
collection   at  Vienna,  with 
a  net  of  human  hair  still 
wound  round  it.      A  strong 
wooden    needle,   some    i6 
inches    long,   with   an   eye,   was   used   for   the   same    purpose.      For   ornaments, 
mother-of-pearl  was  the  favourite  material  to  work  ;  it  makes  a  particularly  vivid 
impression  when  it  is  employed  in  glittering  natural  beads,  or  lies  in  broad  plates 
on  the  breast.    Tortoise- 
shell    is    split   into  discs 
of    extraordinary    thin- 
ness,      while      valuable 
chains    and    girdles    are 
composed  of  the  coloured 
opercula  of  certain  shells. 
The     laborious     putting 
together    of   them   from 
numerous    small    pieces 
is  a  particularly  favourite 
task.      Feather -weaving 
reaches  its  highest  pitch 
in  Hawaii.      One  might 
say  that  in   the  case  of 
the     hideous     feathered 
idols    of   the     Sandwich 
Islands  the  work  is  much 
'  too  fine  in  comparison  with  their  ugliness.     The  red  feathered  head  shown  in  the 
coloured  plate  of  Polynesian  ornaments,  with  its  wide  skate's  mouth  full  of  teeth 
and  goggle   eyes,  is  made  of  plaited  reeds  and  string,  into  which  thousands  of 
little  red  and  yellow  feathers  are  so  cleverly  worked  in  tufts  that  they  quite  con- 
ceal the   substratum.     The  red  feathers  on  the  Greek-shaped  helmets  are  from 
Depranis  coccinea,  the  yellow  from  Moho  fasciculatus. 


Earthenware  vessels  from  the  Fiji  Islands. 
Leipzig. ) 


(Godeffroy  Collection, 


LABOUR,   DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


241 


Among  the  household  utensils  of  the  Hawaiians  are  pestles  called  penu,  5  to 
8  inches  high,  made  of  basalt,  smooth  and  beautifully  worked,  with  a  flat  rubbing- 
sUrface  and  handles  of  various  shapes.  With  these  bread-fruit,  taro,  and  bananas 
are  ground,  on  a  block  having  four  feet  and  the  upper  side  slightly  hollowed. 
Primitive  oil  lamps  are  formed  of  conical  bowls  hollowed  out  in  lava.  Lastly, 
we  must  mention  the  preparation  of  the  turmeric  powder,  to  which  is  ascribed 
an  importance  amounting  to  sanctity  as  an  embellishment  for  body,  clothing, 
and  utensils.  In  Nukuor  the  roots  are  ground  by  four  to  six  women  in  special 
public  buildings,  they  are  then  allowed  to  stand  in  water ;  on  the  following 
morning  three  young  coco -nuts  and  three  old  soma  nuts  are  offered  by  a 
priestess  with  prayer,  after  which  the  dye  which  has  settled  down  in  the  water  is 


Carved  spatulas  for  betel-lime  from  Dorey  in  New  Guinea — two-sevenths  real  size.     (Christy  Collection 


collected,  baked  into  cakes  in  coco-nut  moulds,  wrapped  in  banana  leaves,  and 
hung  up  in  the  huts  till  required  for  use. 

The  industrial  activity  of  the  Melanes,ians  is  in  some  points  behind,  in  many 
others  in  advance  of  that  of  the  Polynesians.  Weapons  reach  their  highest 
development  in  the  Solomon  Islands  ;  the  artistically  beautiful  spears  of  Fauro 
have  been  spoken  of  with  full  justice.  New  Caledonia,  parts  of  New  Guinea, 
and  the  Admiralty  Islands  hold  in  many  respects  a  lower  position  ;  while  many 
natives  of  the  southern  and  central  Pacific  have  no  knowledge  of  pottery.  From 
New  Guinea  to  the  Fiji  Islands  vessels  are  freely  made  of  clay  mixed  with  sand. 
This  art  is  absent  in  New  Ireland  and  New  Britain,  but  reaches  its  highest  point 
in  Fiji.  Finsch  mentions  villages  on  Hall  Sound  in  New  Guinea,  where  one 
stock  understands  pottery  and  another  does  not.  On  the  north  coast  Bilibili 
does  a  thriving  trade  as  the  centre  of  this  industry  in  Astrolabe  Bay  by  exporting 
its  manufactures.  In  the  New  Hebrides  the  potter's  art  must  have  died  out ; 
in  Vate  not  one  complete  pot  is  now  to  be  found,  but  only  potsherds.     This 

R 


Utensils  from  Hawaii  (Arning  Collection,  Berlin  Museum) :  i.  Calabash-carrier  of  coco-nut  fibre,  .i,  3.  Cali 
bashes  with  pattern  burnt  in,  stoppered  with  conus  shells.  4.  Beaters  of  *n««7fl  wood.  5.  Stamping  stici 
for  tapa.  6.  Oil  lamps  of  lava.  7.  Decoration  for  chiefs,  a  sling  of  human  hair  with  carved  cachalol 
tooth.  8.  Necklace  of  similar  teeth  from  Fiji.  9-12.  Straw  plaiting,  probably  a  modern  importatio: 
1-8,   one-fifth  to  one-si.xth  ;  9-12,  one-half  real  size. 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA  243 

retrogression  has  been  set  down  to  the  immigrating  Polynesians,  who  have 
introduced  the  custom  of  cooking  with  hot  stones.  The  highest  points  to  which 
the  earthenware  industry  has  developed  are  found  in  New  Guinea  and  the  Fiji 
Islands,  which  are  precisely  the  extreme  points  of  its  distribution.  The  Mela- 
nesians  do  not  know  the  potter's  wheel,  but  they  burn  their  vessels  cleverly  in  the 
open  with  dry  grass  and  reeds.  The  Fijian  tools  are  a  ring-shaped  cushion  (in  New 
Guinea  the  upper  part  of  an  old  pot),  a  flat  round  stone,  and  four  wooden  mallets. 
With  this  they  make  vessels  which  are  quite  as  symmetrically  formed  as  on  the 
wheel.  A  shining  glaze  is  given  by  rubbing  them  with  resin  while  still  hot. 
In  New  Guinea  pots  are  painted  black,  white,  and  red,  with  figures  of  birds  and 
fish  ;  the  shapes  have  extraordinary  variety.  The  cooking  vessels  are  simple  but 
elegant  urns,  sometimes  of  considerable  size.  Ornamented  covers  are  not  un- 
common, handles  at  the  side  are  never  found.  Among  the  smaller  drinking  vessels 
are  found  some  made  of  two  or  three  fastened  together,  with  separate  spouts,  and 
having  also  a  common  spout  in  the  hollow  handle  ;  also  oval  and  spindle-shaped 
flasks  with  one  opening,  and  boat-shaped  ones  with  two.  The  decoration  consists 
of  impressed  dotted  or  zig-zag  lines  and  ribs,  which  Finsch,  from  his  observations 
in  New  Guinea,  states  to  be  trade  marks.  Pots  the  size  of  casks  are  used  there 
to  keep  sago.  The  wonderful  wealth  of  forms  is  based  not  so  much  on  recollec- 
tion of  the  very  similar  South  American  shapes  as  on  immediate  imitation  of 
Nature.  Here,  as  among  almost  all  races,  the  task  of  making  pots  is  left  to  the 
women,  and  it  is  only  the  wives  of  fishermen  and  sailors  who  appear  to  devote 
themselves  to  it.  May  we  see  in  this  a  case  of  migratory  industrial  tribes 
resembling  the  smiths  of  Africa  ? 

Bark-cloth  is  prepared  in  all  the  Melanesian  groups.  Besides  the  paper 
mulberry,  which  is  cultivated,  the  following  trees  supply  the  bast :  Ficus  prolixa, 
F.  tinctoria,  and  Artocarpus  incisus.  The  loom  is  unknown  ;  the  woven  stuffs 
from  New  Guinea  found  in  our  collections  seem  to  be  a  Malay  importation. 
In  New  Guinea  they  merely  beat  soft  the  bast  stripped  off  the  india-rubber 
tree;  but  Fiji  produces  pieces  150  yards  long,  of  stuff  coloured  in  patterns,  by 
means  of  the  blocks  shown  on  p.  183.  It  is  hard  to  say  how  far  to  the  westward 
the  Polynesian  and  Fijian  method  of  preparing  tapa  extends,  since  it  is  an  article 
of  trade.  In  New  Britain  the  tapa  is  thicker,  and  obviously  more  coarsely 
manufactured  ;  nor  is  it  printed,  but  painted,  so  that,  as  in  New  Guinea,  the 
patterns  are  larger  and  more  continuous  throughout  the  stuff,  from  being  drawn 
and  not  impressed.  The  use  of  a  rule,  too,  permits  the  designing  of  wonderfully 
regular  squares. 

The  art  of  plaiting  is  diligently  practised.  For  the  coarser  mats  coco-nut  fibre 
is  employed  ;  for  the  finer,  pandanus  leaves  and  rushes.  An  intelligent  Fijian  can 
always  tell  you  from  which  island  a  mat  came.  The  coarser  kinds  are  used  as 
floorcloths  and  hangings  to  the  huts  ;  the  finer  as  sails,  or  sleeping-mats,  or  for 
children.  Floor-mats  are  5  to  8  yards  in  length,  sail-mats  100  and  more. 
Sleeping-mats  are  of  two  kinds — a  thicker  to  lie  on,  and  a  thinner  for  covering; 
one  of  the  most  valued  sorts  has  a  pleat  running  through  the  middle  of  each  strip 
of  plaiting.  Borders  are  worked  on  with  designs  in  darker  bands ;  white 
feathers  and  scraps  of  European  stuffs  are  woven  in.  One  of  the  prettiest 
productions  of  the  art  is  the  women's  liku,  a  girdle  woven  from  strips  of  the  bast 
of  the  wau-\x&&  (a  kind  of  hibiscus),  with  the  fibres  of  a  root  that  grows  wild,  and 


244 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


blades  of  grass.  Soft  mats  are  made  by  plaiting  the  stalks  of  a  fibrous  plant  in 
one,  and  removing  the  woody  portions  by  bending  and  beating.  Bags  ai 
baskets  are  admirably  woven ;  fans,  too,  are  made  either  of  palm  leav 
strengthened  at  the  edge  and  vandyked,  or  woven  from  bast.  But  superior  to  j 
these  are  the  string  and  the  cables — the  best  from  coco-fibre,  the  inferior  kin( 
from  the  bast  of  the  wau-tree.  In  the  Fiji  Islands  these  are  tastefully  made  t 
into  balls,  ovals,  spindles,  etc.  Comparison  with  New  Caledonia  shows  how  hig 
East  Melanesia  stands  in  this  art.  One  has  only  to  look  at  a  New  Caledonia  fa 
beside  one  from  Fiji.  But  in  New  Guinea,  again,  very  elegant  woven  articles  ( 
all  kinds  are  produced. 

Wood-carving  again,  of  which  we  have  seen  specimens  in  the  weapons,  stanc 


Wickeraork  (basket,  pouches,  and  fly-whisk),  from  Tongatabu.     (Cook  Collection, 
Vienna  Ethnographic  Museum. ) 

highest  in  East  Melanesia,  though  the  west  can  also  (as  seen  in  the  cut  on  p.  241] 
show  remarkable  work.  Individual  districts  are  poor  in  this  respect:  in  the 
Banks  Islands,  for  instance,  hardly  any  carved  human  figures  are  to  be  seen.  AH 
the  larger  groups  have  their  own  subjects.  The  most  wonderful  fancy  is  showr 
in  the  appendages  to  houses  and  boats.  In  these  simple  artists  there  is  a  strong 
tendency  to  pass  from  imitation  of  Nature  to  conventionalised  forms,  so  that  this 
imitation  is  never  very  successful,  especially  where,  as  in  Fiji  and  the  New 
Hebrides,  the  human  form  is  so  rarely  copied.  One  may  see  this  in  th£ 
representations  of  the  human  face,  in  which  the  nose  appears  as  a  line,  falling 
downwards  and  forwards  from  the  projecting  forehead,  with  strongly  distended 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


245 


nostrils,  and  ending  in  the  mouth,  a  cross  line  sharply  cut  back.  In  some  New 
Guinea  masks  this  evokes  a  reminiscence  of  Ganesa  and  his  proboscis.  In  Fiji 
this  fancy  is  fused  with  the  far  better  proportioned  geometrical  designs  of  Tonga. 
In  San  Christoval  figures  are  better  drawn  than  anywhere  else,  and  in  Isabel  we 
find  really  artistic  engraved  work.  We  may  notice  also  one  characteristic 
production  of  Melanesian  art  :  the  ever-recurrihg  grotesque  heads  of  the  New 
Caledonians.  The  carved  head  with  large  nose  and  a  kind  of  bishop's  mitre  on 
the  top,  as  shown  on  p.  252,  is  a  type  which  we  find  in  a  larger  form  by  itself,  as 
an  idol.  This  religious  sculpture  shows  a  close  affinity  with  idols  from  other 
parts  of  the  South  Seas,  in  connection  with  which  we  may  recall  the  resemblance 
of  the  spear-heads  to  the  knobstick  of  the  Hervey  Islanders  as  shown  in  the  plate 
of  "  Polynesian  Clubs." 

To  the  same  branch  of  art  we  may  refer  the  carved  wooden  masks.     These 


Polynesian  fan  and  fly-whisks,  insignia  of  chiefs,  probably  from  Tongatabu.      (Cook  Collection. ) 

are  often  trimmed  round  the  lips  with  red  beans,  and  fitted  with  wigs  of  real 
hair ;  and  are  carried  at  dances,  dressed  in  feather  clothing.  All  these  carvings 
are  executed  with  firm,  strong  cuts  in  palm  wood.  Lines  in  relief  are 
coloured  black,  the  general  level  red,  and  depressed  parts  are  white.  From  New 
Ireland  come  examples  of  masks  made  by  sawing  off  the  face  of  a  skull,  just  as 
in  Peru ;  and  with  these  are  connected  the  ruddle-painted  skulls  of  New  Britain. 
The  flexible  tortoiseshell  was  formerly  the  favourite  material  in  south-eastern 
New  Guinea  and  in  the  Torres  Islands  for  masks  with  wild  arabesques  and 
appendages  like  trunks  and  combs.  Still  earlier,  indeed,  it  was  much  more  worked, 
being  used  even  for  hats  ;  now  they  have  got  to  use  tin  masks  in  New  Guinea, 
where  formerly,  in  Kaiser  Wilhelm's  Land  particularly,  a  vigorous  style  in  masks 
used  to  prevail,  corresponding  with  that  of  the  carved  woodwork  generally. 

In  trade  the  activity  of  the  Melanesians  is  by  no  means  insignificant,  stimu- 


246  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

lated  and  instructed  as  it  no  doubt  is  by  the  trading  of  the  Malays  in  New  Guinea, 
and  by  that  of  the  Tongans  in   Fiji.      It  was  owing  to  this  foreign  trade  that  the 
natives  of  Hood  Bay  came  unarmed  to  meet  MacFarlane's  schooner,  or  that  the 
Papuas    of   Ansus   have   become   honest   brokers  between  the    Malays   and  the 
mountain  tribes.     This,  too,  it  may  be  which  has  caused  the  Fijians  to  establish 
and  level  market-places  at  suitable  points  of  their  coasts  ;   while  the  Fijian  trading 
people  of  Levuka,  Mbotoni,  and  Malaki  have  formed  themselves  upon  the  example 
of  the  Tongans.     But  even  in  Central  Melanesia  there  is  a  lively  traffic.     Individual 
islands  of   the   New  Hebrides   manufacture  various  weapons  ;    thus  the  pointed 
weapons  of  Tanna  come  from  Immer.      In  the  Solomons,  Malayta  builds  canoes ; 
Bougainville  mints  shell-money ;   Guadalcanar  makes  rings  and  wooden  dishes. 
A  valuable  article  of  export  from  New   Ireland  are  cuscus-teeth,  perforated  for 
fillets  and  necklaces.     All  these  peoples  were  acquainted  with  trade  and  barter 
when  first  visited  by  Europeans  ;    among  some  of  them  iron  was  found,  which 
could  have  been  introduced  in  no  other  manner.     They  rushed  only  too  readily 
into  commerce  with  white  men.      When  the  Gazelle  visited  Blanche  Bay  in  1877, 
canoes  full  of  natives  eager  for  trade  swarmed  around  them  ;    but  in    1889  Rear- 
Admiral  Strauch  found  the  bay  almost  empty.     The  people  had  nothing  left  to 
exchange.     Money  transactions  play  an   important  part,  for  rank  and  dignity  are 
graded  upon  money.    In  New  Britain  its  purpose  is  served  by  disks  of  shell  strung* 
on  fibre  ;  in  the  Banks   Islands  by  the  points  of  shells  similarly  strung ;  in  the 
northern   New   Hebrides    by    long    narrow    mats    which    are   more    valuable   in 
proportion  as  they  are  older  and   more  smoke-blackened.      Sperm-whales'  teeth, 
which  are  valued  as  ornaments,  represent  large  capitals  in  Fiji  ;  just  as  do,  in  the 
Solomons,  necklaces  of  dolphins'  teeth,  and  armlets  formed  from  rings  of  shell. 
Santa  Cruz  treasures  red  parrots'  feathers  ;  and  Melanesia,  in  the  Banks  Islands, 
the  feathers  round  hens'  eyes.      Similarly,  in  former  times,  the  red  hair  below  the 
ear  of  the  flying-fox  was  used  as  money  in  the  Loyalty  Islands.     Accumulated 
capital  is  represented  also  by  the  masses  of  tapa,  of  which  the  Fijian  chiefs  are 
so  proud  that  on  festive  occasions  they  will  wind  200  yards  and  more  of  it  round 
their  persons.     What  is  even  more,  Codrington  tells  us  that  the  Banks   Islanders 
have  organised  a  regular  system  of  credit. 

In  Micronesia  the  position  of  currency  is  taken  by  stones,  bits  of  glass  or 
porcelain,  fragments  of  enamel,  and  beads.  In  the  Pelew  Islands,  whence  this 
seems  to  radiate,  seven  sorts  are  distinguished.  First,  brack  or  barak,  of  which, 
in  Semper's  time,  the  whole  group  did  not  contain  more  than  three  or  four  pieces. 
The  most  valuable  was  made  of  terra-cotta,  in  the  shape  of  a  bent  prism  with 
sides  ground  somewhat  hollow,  hard,  fine-grained,  and  with  almost  a  glassy  lustre. 
Kubary  gives  a  picture  of  a  brack  worth  forty-five  shillings — a  polished  fourteen- 
sided  polyhedron.  Second,  pangungau  or  bungau,  a  red  stone,  polished  like  brack, 
perhaps  jasper.  It  was  preserved  in  the  treasure-chest  of  the  King  of  Korror, 
or  buried  on  account  of  its  value  ;  in  Aibukit  the  wives  of  great  men  wear  it  on  their 
necks.  Third,  kalbukub  or  kalebukub,  agate  in  a  particular  shape,  or  in  some 
specimens,  hard  enamel.  Kubary  says :  "  Only  very  few  chiefs  possess  a  single 
kalebukub,  and  I  was  the  first  white  man  that  ever  had  one."  While  these  three 
kinds  of  money  go  only  among  the  chiefs,  the  four  others,  kaldoir,  kluk,  adelobber, 
olelongl,  circulate  among  the  common  people.  For  a  bit  of  the  last-named, 
consisting  of  fragments  of  white  or  green  glass,  you  can  buy  at  most  a  handful 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


247 


of  bananas,  or  a  bundle  of  native  cigarettes.  In  the  kluk  class  are  found  polished 
enamel  beads,  the  production  of  a  much  higher  ability  than  any  with  which  we 
can  now  credit  the  people.  The  different  classes  are  not,  however,  very  sharply 
graded  ;  large  kluks  outweigh  inferior  kalebukubs.  With  the  exception  of  the 
most  valuable,  which  are  never  brought  out,  all  serve  equally  for  ornament, 
and  so  are  perforated.  Marks  of  rank  are  also  a  measure  of  property.  Thus  in 
Pelew  wealthy  persons  wear  as  an  armlet  the  klilt,  or  atlas  vertebra  of  the  rare 
Halicore  dugong.  The  purchase  of  the  klilt  is  a  political  requirement,  with 
which  every  new  chief  is  expected  to  comply.  Since  only  the  king  can  confer 
this.  Semper  calls  it  "  the  Order  of  the  Bone."  The  same  writer  heard  a  pretty 
story  at  Aibukit  in  Pelew :   Once  upon  a  time  a  boat  floated  up,  the  occupants 


Wicker  fans  from  the  Gilbert  or  Marshall  Islands  {British  Museum). 

of  which  were  the  seven  kinds  of  money.  They  had  set  out  from  their  own 
island,  Ngarutt,  to  seek  new  countries.  They  had  floated  about  in  the  ocean  for 
a  long  time  without  finding  what  they  wanted,  and  at  last  they  came  ashore  here 
on  Pelew.  Off  the  harbour.  Brack,  who  as  the  most  important  was  lying  stretched 
out  on  the  platform  of  the  boat,  told  the  next  in  rank,  Pangungau,  to  go  ashore 
and  have  a  look  at  the  island.  Pangungau,  as  lazy  as  his  sovereign,  gave  the 
order  to  Kalbukub  ;  he  passed  it  on  to  Kaldoir  ;  he  to  Kluk,  and  so  on  till  the 
much-enduring  Olelongl,  who  had  no  one  to  send,  had  to  go.  But  as  he  did  not 
return,  after  a  while  Brack  renewed  his  order.  This  time  Adelobber  went  off 
grumbling,  and  he,  too,  did  not  return.  Then  Kluk  was  .sent  to  fetch  them  both, 
but  he  also  stayed  on  the  island ;  and  so  it  went  on  till  Brack  was  deserted 
both  by  his  common  people  and  by  his  nobles.  "  So  he  went  to  fetch  them 
himself,  but  he  too  liked  the  look  of  our  town,"  said  the  narrator  ;  "  and  so  all  seven 
stayed  and  took  up  their  abode.  Brack  does  nothing  but  eat,  drink,  and ^sleep, 
and  the  higher  in  rank  always  sends  his  inferior  on  errands  ;  and  thus  it  is,"  con- 
cluded the  narrator  with  a  sly  laugh,  "  that,  just  as  with  us  men,  the  big  money 
sits  quiet  at  home,  and  the  smaller  has  to  be  smart  and  run  about,  and  work  for 
himself  and  the  swells  too." 


248 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


In  the  Carolines  we  meet  with  a  similar  development  of  currency.  Here  the 
most  frequent  unit,  called  fe,  consists  of  large  pieces,  like  millstones,  of  a  pale 
yellow  granular  limestone,  from  i  foot  to  2  yards  in  diameter,  and  weighing  up 
to  several  tons.  Their  value  depends  upon  their  size,  workmanship,  and  so  on, 
and  from  a  few  dollars  to  1 000  or  more.  Every  year  many  people  go  in  gangs, 
on  board  European  vessels,  to  Pelew,  where  they  find  the  raw  material.  Since 
the  working  requires  many  hands,  and  the  transport  is  expensive,  these  stone  coins 
usually  remain  the  property  of  the  whole  commune  ;  very  few  find  their  way  into 
private  hands.  This  kind  of  money  being  somewhat  unwieldy,  other  forms  of 
coin  come  into  use  for  commercial  purposes :  in  the  first  place  pearl-shells,  or  sar, 
strung  on  a  cord  ;  then  rolls  of  matting,  ambul,  of  coarse  work  and  various  value,  the 
largest  from  £7  to  ;^i  i.     A  further  form  of  money,  gau  (clearly  the  same  as  the 


Wooden  bowl  for  food,  from  the  Admiralty  Islands— one-eighth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection.) 

bungau  of  Pelew),  is  made  from  various  polished  stones  and  pieces  of  shells  twisted 
off,  which  can  be  strung  into  necklaces  till  wanted.  These  are  found  only  among 
the  chiefs.  Plaques  of  nutshells  and  seashells  strung  on  long  cords  of  coco-nut 
fibre,  black  and  white  alternately — an  arrangement  of  which,  either  in  pieces  of 
the  same  size  or  tapering  towards  the  ends,  the  art  of  Oceania  is  as-  fond  as  were 
the  ancient  Americans — form  money  and  neck  ornaments  for  the  Gilbert  Islanders; 
polished  beads  of  coco-nut  shell,  bracelets  of  tortoise-shell,  spondylus  armlets,  are 
currency  in  Mortlock.  How  necessary  a  currency  is  may  be  imagined  when  we 
know  that  the  Mortlock  Islanders,  though  they  weave  themselves,  import 
particular  kinds  of  woven  goods  from  the  Ruk  Islands. 

The  importance  of  these  new  coinages  is  not  only  economical — their  age  and 
their  rarity  gives  an  almost  sacred  character  to  some,  while  in  the  case  of  others 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  them,  and  the  power  which  they  impart,  invest  them 
with  political  influence.  Offences  against  chiefs  can  often  only  be  expiated 
by  the  sacrifice  of  a  piece  of  money  which  represents  the  whole  wealth  of  a 
family  ;  and  then  the  family,  losing  with  it  the  credit  based  upon  it,  drops  several 


LABOUR,   DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


249 


steps  in  the  social  ladder.  Thus  money  is,  to  put  it  briefly,  next  to  religious 
tradition,  the  basis  of  political  influence  and  the  standard  of  social  position.  The 
coinage  also  plays  an  important  part  in  the  inter-tribal  festivals.  Every  island 
of  the  Pelew  group  gives  from  time  to  time  a  ruk,  at  which  the  representatives  of 
a  certain  number  of  allied  islands  bring  to  the  government  a  fixed  contribution 
in  native  money.  The  visiting  chiefs  pay  their  host  according  to  their  rank. 
Besides  this  mulbekel,  there  are  other  ruks,  in  which  only  the  small  places  of  a 
district  join  with  a  view  of  showing  friendship  and  good  fellowship. 

In  general  the  economic  life  of  the  Melanesians  gives  the  impression  of  a 
moderate  activity  under  favourable  natural  conditions.  Melanesians  from  the 
eastern  parts,  when  serving  on  European  plantations  or  on  board  ship,  show  an 


I.   Bamboo  drinking  horns  from  New  Guinea— one-third  real  size.     2.   Carved  gourd,  used  for  betel-box, 
from  the  Trobriand  Islands — one-third  real  size.     (Christy  Collection. ) 

amount  of  efficiency  exceeding  that  of  the  Polynesians.  In  New  Caledonia  the 
conditions  are  less  gratifying,  the  indolence  and  poverty  often  reminding  us  of 
Australians.  Both  sexes  take  part  in  labour.  Of  the  mode  of  life  in  New 
Guinea,  D'Albertis  has  drawn  a  picture  which  would  be  well  fitted  by  the  motto 
festina  lente.  The  natives  as  a  rule  get  up  early,  but  sleep  for  several  hours  in  the 
course  of  the  day.  When  their  toilet  is  completed  the  men  occupy  themselves 
during  the  cool  morning  hours  in  making  twine  for  their  nets.  The  women  clean 
the  huts,  fetch  water,  and  cook  the  first  meal,  which  is  eaten  in  common :  the 
men  trim  the  meat  cleverly  with  their  bamboo  knives  ;  then  most  of  them  leave 
the  village  and  betake  themselves  to  the  field — the  men  armed  with  their  spears, 
the  women  with  pouch-shaped  nets  and  carved  clubs  to  knock  down  dead  wood 
from  the  trees.  They  have  four  meals  a  day,  consisting  of  bananas,  yams,  taro,  sago, 
and  bread-fruit,  kangaroo,  and  even  meat  and  fishes.  But  they  also  eat  snakes, 
iguanas,  frogs,  the  grubs  of  various  insects,  fresh-water  tortoises,  and  lastly,  with 


250 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


n 


#1 


m 


TT13 


a 


(6>        ' 


Carved  bamboo  box  from  Western 
New  Guinea — three-fourths  real 
size.     (Christy  Collection. ) 


great  gusto,  a  fresh-water  mollusc  called  ebe,  the  shells 
of  which  they  use  for  the  most  various  purposes,  and 
therefore  always  carry  about  with  them. 

Both  Polynesians  and  Melanesians  display  an 
artistic  tendency  in  their  simplest  articles  of  daily  use. 
In  reference  to  New  Guinea,  Hugo  Zoller  says  :  "  You 
will  be  guilty  of  no  exaggeration  if  you  speak  of  a 
real  art  industry  among  the  Papuas "  ;  both  peoples 
have  attained  a  similar  point,  but  the  ornament  of  the 
Melanesians  is  richer  and  fuller  of  fancy.  It  is 
attractive  to  trace  out  how  and  in  what  their  produc- 
tions show  the  typical  differences  that  have  their 
roots  in  the  spirit  of  the  people,  or  rather  in  the  spirit 
of  the  race.  In  Papuan  ornament  the  predominant 
element  is  the  curved  line,  and  that  either  in  parallels 
or  freely  interlacing.  It  runs  especially  into  spirals, 
but  also  into  waves,  crescents,  ellipses ;  individual 
groups  of  ornament  are  separated  by  zig-zags  and 
straight  lines.  The  concentric  curve  is  always  recur- 
ring in  the  fantastic  beaks  of  their  ships,  or  in  the 
carved  shields,  paddles,  and  mallets  ;  it  has  a  decided 
advantage  over  any  attempts  at  copying  Nature.  In 
this  New  Zealand  resembles  New  Guinea  most ;  now 
and  again  efforts  towards  geometrical  arrangement  are 
seen  in  paddles,  the  blades  of  which  are  divided  by 
two  straight  lines  into  four  equal  portions,  variously 
coloured.  It  appears  still  more  in  the  wooden  moulds 
for  the  decoration  of  earthenware  vessels.  But  it  is 
in  the  east  of  the  island  world  that  it  may  claim  the 
highest  development,  especially  in  the  Tonga  and 
Samoa  groups,  which  herein  also  show  affinity. 

The  tools  with  which  artistic  work  was  done  were, 
before  the  introduction  of  iron,  exceedingly  simple. 
The  stone  axe  was  the  only  implement  for  shaping 
posts  and  planks,  or  for  felling  trees,  and  together 
with  sharp  shells  it  served  for  the  execution  of  the 
larger  ornament,  figures,  wooden  dishes,  etc.  Carved 
and  engraved  work  was  done  with  shells  and  rats' 
teeth  fixed  in  hard  wood ;  shells,  again,  and  the 
spines  of  sea-urchins  or  rays,  served  for  boring,  while 
smoothing  was  done  with  files  from  the  skin  of  a  ray 
and  pieces  of  coral  or  pumice-stone.  The  shell-axe 
was  as  a  rule  more  frequent  in  the  west,  the  stone 
axe  in  the  east ;  but  iron  has  created  an  equal 
revolution  everywhere.  Skilled  workmen  as  they 
were,  the  islanders  recognised  at  once  the  advantage  of 
iron  tools  ;  but  at  first  they  preferred  sheet  iron  in  the 
form  of  plain  hoop  iron  to  all  other,  since  it  could  be 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,   AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


251 


Chisel  and  shell  auger,  from  New  Britain.     (Berlin  Museum.) 


set  and  fixed  just  like  their  old  stone  axes.  It  was  only  in  the  environs  of  Geelvink 
Bay,  which  were  visited  by  the  Malays  from  Ternate,  and  by  Dutchmen,  that  the 
smith's  art  found  a  footing  in  pre -European  times;  otherwise  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  district,  as  far  as  Hawaii  and  Rapanui,  iron  and  the 
other  metals  had  either  never  been  known  or  had  disappeared  ;  Schouten  and 
Tasman  never  mention  them. 

Owing  to  the  larger  number  of  land  animals  in  Melanesia,  increasing  as  it  does 
westward,  hunting  still  plays  an  important  part.  In  New  Guinea  many  villages 
subsist  mainly  upon  it,  and  in 
districts  where  certain  birds  of 
paradise  are  found,  the  right 
of  hunting  them  is  reserved 
for  the  chiefs.  Meanwhile,  in 
the  Polynesians  we  have  a 
branch  of  mankind  to  whom 
not  only  all  the  influences  of 
pastoral  life,  but  also  the 
bracing  effects  of  the  chase, 
have  remained  unknown.  In 
Hilo,  indeed,  ducks  are  cap- 
tured by  means  of  floating  sticks,  fitted  with  baits,  and  weighted  with  stones, 
and  small  birds  are  caught  in  Tahiti ;  otherwise  there  is  no  hunting  of  any 
importance.  Who  can  say  whether  the  total  impossibility  of  finding  game  to 
provide  an  outlet  for  the  desire  to  slay  and  torture,  for  ambition  and  active 
impulses,  has  been  as  responsible  for  the  incessant  wars  and  the  cruelty  of  man 
towards  man  as  the  lack  of  larger  animals'  flesh  has  been  an  incentive  to 
cannibalism  ?  The  decay  of  projectile  weapons  must  in  any  case  be  connected 
with  this.  Fishing,  on  the  other  hand,  is  all  over  the  region  pursued  with  energy 
and  diligence  ;  it  takes  a  distinct  place  in  the  weekly  division  of  labour.  In  New 
Guinea  the  custom  is  to  fish  by  detachments  on  fixed  days,  and  to  distribute  the 
catch  equally  among  all  members  of  the  tribe.  The  appearance  of  a  shark  puts 
whole  villages  into  commotion  ;  in  time  of  peace  distinguished  persons  take  the 
command  of  fishing  expeditions  just  as  in  time  of  war  they  lead  troops.  The 
most  perfect  implements  that  the  Polynesians  generally  possess  are  employed  in 
this  work.  The  New  Zealanders  used  to  make  nets  500  yards  long,  requiring 
hundreds  of  hands  to  handle  them.  Hooks  of  every  size  are  manufactured  from 
birds'  bones,  tortoiseshell,  sea-shells,  and  hard  wood,  and  fitted  with  artificial  baits 
made  of  feathers  or  bright  pieces  of  shell.  Those  used  in  the  capture  of  sharks, 
a  popular  article  of  diet,  are  as  much  as  20  inches  long.  It  is  only  in  New 
Caledonia  and  some  parts  of  Western  Melanesia  that  the  fishing  is  limited  to  what 
can  be  done  with  arrows,  spears,  and  nets.  In  general  the  fish-hooks  of  the 
Melanesian  isles  are  excellent ;  even  white  men  prefer  them  to  the  European  steel 
hooks.  Boat-builders,  as  we  have  mentioned,  were  sacred  ;  but  the  manufacturers 
of  ropes,  fishing-lines,  and  fish-hooks  were  reckoned  at  least  as  important  persons. 
Property  in  these  articles  was  so  abundant  that  in  the  early  times  they  were 
frequently  a  medium  of  exchange  against  European  goods.  The  strongest  hooks 
were  composed  of  three  pieces  :  the  body  consisting  of  a  semicircular  finger-shaped 
piece  of  the  bone  of  the  cachalot  or  sperm-whale,  the  flat  under  side  of  which  was 


252 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl.  On  its  upper  side  the  tortoiseshell  hook  was  fastened 
with  string — the  point  in  the  larger  specimens  being  pierced  for  a  string  to  hold 
the  bait.  When  these  tortoiseshell  hooks  became  blunt  or 
broken  they  were  able  to  do  further  service  in  necklaces.  We 
may  mention  here  the  simple  but  ingenious  Tahitian  arrange- 
ment for  carrying  fish — a  strong  cord  with  a  boar's  tooth  at  each 
end.  For  the  shark-fishing,  large  lumps  of  bait  are  used ;  for 
the  flying  fish,  an  obtuse-angled,  sharp-pointed  piece  of  bone. 

In    New   Britain    they   employ 


s^ 


j; 


also  standing  fish-traps  made 
of  plaited  work,  and  hand-nets 
which  are  held  from  a  moving 
boat  with  the  hilt  -  like  end 
dropped  into  the  water.  For 
the  same  purpose  the  F'ijians 
make  a  kind  of  floating  bow- 
net  from  the  long  stems  of 
climbing  plants,  plaited  through 
with  coco  -  palm  leaves.  In 
Trobriand  a  kind  of  rattle  of 
coco-nut  shells  half  cut  through 
serves  to  entice  the  sharks. 
Vegetable  poisons,  especially 
one  from  a  climbing  glycine,  are 
used  for  stupefying  the  fish ; 
sleepy  fishes,  such  as  sharks,  are 
said  to  be  taken  in  Fiji  with 
nooses.  A  great  number  of 
ceremonies  and  festivities  are 
connected  with  the  turtle-fishery. 
This  is  carried  on  by  means  of 
weighted  nets,  which  are  thrown 
into  deep  water  close  outside 
the  reef,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
form  a  semicircular  fence  and 
block  the  way  of  the  turtles 
returning  from  the  land.  The 
animals  are  driven  into  these 
nets  by  shouts,  but  the  main 
work  is  to  get  them  on  board. 
For  this  purpose  people  are 
required  of  conspicuous  dex- 
,   „. . .      ^       ,        ,  terity  and   strength  to  dive  at 

I.   J?ishing   float   from    the  Solomon   Islands— one-eiehth   real  size  *.u„        •^-      \  ,  i      i  • 

(Christy  Collection).     2.   Floats,  sinkers,  baler,  and  war^pears    *^^   ^'"t''^^'    moment    and    driVC 
from  New  Caledonia  (Vienna  Museum.)  '    the  animal  tO  the  Surface  j    whcH 

,  ,  it  is  fairly  on  its  back  in   the 

boat,  loud  blasts  of  the  shell  trumpet  announce  the  joyful  intelligence.      D'Albertis 
saw  skulls  of  turtles  hung  up  in  the  temple  of  Tawan  as  offerings.      In  stormy 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


253 


weather  the  Hawaiians  put  out  in  their  little  fishing  boats  to  catch  dolphins, 
and  many  a  fisherman  going  too  far  in  pursuit  of  the  school — the  position  of 
which  is  indicated  by  the  birds  in  the  air — has  been  cast  away  and  lost. 

In  the  matter  of  breeding  animals,  the  first  mention  must  be  made  of  pigs. 
Wherever  these  occur  they  take  a  prominent  position.  They  are  pampered  : 
in  Tahiti  and  New  Britain  the  little  ones  are  suckled  by  women,  and  fed  by  old 
women  ;  or,  after  the  fashion  of  capons,  literally  stuffed  with  bread-fruit  dough. 
They  are  slaughtered  at  high  festivals,  and  reserved  exclusively  for  the  upper 
classes.     Next  to  the  pig,  the  dog  is  the  only  domestic  animal  of  any  size.     The 


A«ti%'4^f^ 


A  New  Zealand  trawl-net.     (Munich  Ethnographical  Museum. ) 

breed  is  a  small  one  resembling  the  breed  of  the  Negroes,  with  no  bark.  In  New 
Guinea,  New  Zealand,  Samoa,  and  the  Society  Islands  they  were  bred  for  meat, 
being  quite  useless  for  hunting.  The  common  fowl  is  the  most  widely  distributed 
of  all :  in  Tonga  they  ran  about  wild  in  flocks  ;  while  in  Easter  Island  they  were 
the  only  domestic  animal.  None  of  the  native  birds  have  been  regularly 
domesticated,  though  in  Easter  Island  the  sea-swallows,  sierna,  were  found  so 
far  tamed  as  to  sit  on  men's  shoulders.  In  Tongatabu  the  islanders  carried  pigeons 
or  parrots  on  sticks,  and  on  the  south  coast  of  New  Guinea  cockatoos  were  kept 
in  almost  every  village.     But  these  have  naturally  no  economic  importance. 

Agriculture  is  almost  everywhere  indigenous  ;  even  on  the  most  barren  coral 
island  at  least  a  few  coco-palms  are  cultivated.  It  is  most  highly  developed 
on  islands  like  Tonga,  where  soil  and  climate  are  not  too  favourable,  but  at  the 
same  time  not  niggardly,  so  that  labour  is  repaid  but  not  allowed  to  flag.     The 


254 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


Society  Islands  and  Samoa,  more  prodigally  endowed  by  Nature,  stand  some- 
what lower,  and  the  inhabitants  are  more  indolent.  Lowest  of  all  are  poor 
islands  like  Easter  Island  or  the  smaller  Paumotus,  with  little  area  and  a  scanty 

rocky  soil.     Yet  even 


,si!n^- 


Shark-trap  with  wooden  float,  from  Fiji.      ( Berlin  Museum. 


there  plantains,  sugar- 
cane, sweet  potatoes, 
■;;;;■■  yams,  taro,  and  sola- 
i'l  num,  were  found  in 
cultivation ;  unpro- 
ductiveness is  the 
exception,  the  more 
favoured  regions  the 
rule.      Here   we  find 


fenced  fields,  terraces  with  earth  artificially  banked  up  on  steep  slopes,  and 
arrangements  for  irrigation,  especially  in  the  cultivation  of  taro,  trees  for  giving 
shade,  and  garden  flowers,  even  beds  laid  out ;  all  which  is  a  sign  that  the 
cultivation   of  the   soil   has  advanced  far.     Even  on  Easter  Island,  G.  Forster 


Smoked  fish  from  Massilia  in  East  New  Guinea — one-sixth  real  size.     (BerUn  Museum) 

found  an  irrigation  trench  a  foot  deep  around  every  plantain,  while  in  Tonga  he 
walked  in  an  avenue  of  four  rows  of  coco-palms  2000  paces  in  length, 
diligently  weeded  and  manured.  Cultivation  is  correspondingly  dense;  one 
of  the  special  advantages  of  Samoa  to  which  Pritchard  draws  attention  is  that 
you  come  every  mile  or  two  upon  a  grove  of  coco-palms  or  bread-fruit;  and 
the  first  visitors  to  Tongatabu  depicted  it  as  one  great  garden.  In  this 
way  their  descriptions  excited  among  their  contemporaries  the  liveliest  longing 
for  these  fortunate  islands.  In  Micronesia,  where  fishing  prevails,  agriculture  for 
the  production  of  the  chief  article  of  food,  taro,  is  carried  on  only  in  the  larger 
islands,  such  as  the  Pelews.  The  men  cultivate  betel,  tobacco,  and  turmeric, 
while  the  women  of  all  classes,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  even  kings' 
wives,  make  it  a  point  of  honour  to  keep  their  ifaw- patches  in  the  finest 
condition.  The  task  of  the  men  is  only  to  attend  to  the  artificial  irrigation  of 
the  plantations,  which  are  in  low  marshy  places,  and  to  set  out  the  young  plants ; 
the  women  have  to  keep  the  ground  weeded,  and  take  the  plants  up  as  required. 
Besides  taro,  the  New  Zealanders  cultivate,  among  crops  originally  introduced 
from  the  north,  the  sweet  potato— this  with  religious  ceremonies— and  the  bottle- 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


255 


gourd  ;  and  of  native  plants  a  fern  with  edible  rhizomes,  and  the  New  Zealand 
flax  {phormium  tenax). 

In  western   Melanesia  agriculture  is  on  the  whole  less  advanced.     Great  part 
of  New  Guinea  is  uncultivated.     Yet  even  here  in  individual  cases  it  stands  high. 


Cuttle-fish  baits  from  the  Society  Islands,  two-fifths  real  size.     (Christy  Collection,  Berlin  Museum. ) 

In  the  south-east  among  the  Kerepunus,  and  on  Astrolabe  Bay  in  the  north,  the 
fields  are  kept  like  gardens  ;  the  soil  being  turned  by  men  in  a  long  row  armed 
with  pointed  sticks,  and  then  levelled  by  the  women  and  planted  with  bananas, 
sugar-cane,  yams,  etc.,  in  long  strips.     Clearing  and  fencing  is  done  by  all  in 


Polynesian  pots  and  implements  (the  two  calabashes  for  betel-lime,  from  the  Admiralty  Islands) ; 
also  a  shell  horn— one-fifth  real  size.     (Christy  Collection.) 

common,  in  exemplary  style.  If  the  arable  lands  are  far  off,  little  huts  are  put 
UP  for  temporary  occupation.  Among  the  western  islands,  New  Britain  and  the 
New  Hebrides  deserve  the  highest  praise.  There,  as  well  as  in  the  Solomons 
the  extensive  plantations  lie  always  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  habitations,  and 
frequently  are  arranged,  for  the  sake  of  irrigation,  on  terraces  one  above  another. 


256 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


On  the  steep  slopes  of  Meralava,  in  Aurora,  and  in  other  islands,  field  rises  above 
field,  and  every  patch  gets  the  full  benefit  of  the  irrigation.  As  in  Newr  Guinea, 
so  in  Nevir  Caledonia,  the  nutritious  bread-fruit  of  the  east  is  unknovs^n,  which 
implies  a  serious  deficiency  in  the  food-supply  of  the  people.  In  little  Mota 
(Banks  Islands),  on  the  other  hand,  Codrington  found  sixty  names  for  varieties 
of  bread-fruit,  and  eighty  for  yams.  But  the  agriculture  of  the  Fiji  Islands  takes 
a  higher  rank  than  even  that  of  Polynesia.  Here  more  than  anyw^here  the  taro 
or  dalo,  unquestionably  the  most  nutritious  of  all  Melanesian  food-plants,  is  the 
staff  of  life.  One  kind  is  grown  on  dry  ground,  but  the  normal  sort  is  the 
Polynesian  ;  for  which  the  soil    is   worked   into    a   mortar-like   consistency,  and 


Covered  vessel  in  shape  of  a  bird,  inlaid  with  shell,  from  the  Pelew  Islands.     (British  Museum.) 

deeply  trenched,  before  receiving  the  young  plants.  After  the  yam,  which 
stands  second,  the  next  root-crop  to  be '  mentioned  is  the  anai  or  masave,  the 
sweet  root  of  the  ii-iree.  {Draccsna  terminalis  or  cordyline  ti).  In  a  few  districts 
only,  as  Leper  Island,  is  the  banana  the  chief  fruit ;  though  the  Fijians  have 
thirty  varieties  of  it.  Sugar-cane,  and  the  yakona  plant,  from  the  chewed  roots 
of  which  the  intoxicating  drink  kava  is  prepared,  are  planted  in  great  quantity. 
We  find,  too,  whole  nurseries  of  the  paper-mulberry,  masi  or  malo,  from  the  bark 
of  which  the  material  called  tapa  is  made.  In  the  New  Hebrides  and  Banks 
Islands  no  single  village  is  without  its  flowers  and  aromatic  herbs.  In  all  the 
archipelagos  of  the  equatorial  Pacific,  the  coco-palm  is  one  of  the  most  important 
plants.  Even  on  uninhabited  islands  it  is  sedulously  tended  ;  and  it  forms,  with 
the  fruit  of  the  pandanus,  the  chief  food  of  the  low  islands,  as  the  Paumotus, 
which  are  poor  in  vegetables. 


LABOUR,   DWELLINGS,   AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


257 


On  how  insecure  a  basis,  however,  the  life  of  these  islanders  rests  is  shown 
by  the  only  too  frequent  times  of  dearth.  Among  articles  of  diet  the  chief  place 
is  taken  by  vegetable  products  and  the  spoils  of  fishing,  and  great  groups  of 
these  races  are  wholly  vegetarian.  Dietary  laws  forbid  the  eating  of  beasts  or 
plants  which  are  atuas  of  the  tribe.  Where  pigs  and  dogs  exist,  these  delicacies 
are  reserved  for  the  upper  classes  or  for  festive  occasions.  Contrary  to  our  usual 
ideas  of  the  diet  of  these  tribes,  the  fat  and  blood  of  the  pig  are  among  the 
dainties  served  at  the  banquets  of  the  chiefs.  "  No  Greenlander  was  ever  so  sharp 
set  upon  train-oil  as  our  friends  here,"  says  Cook,  of  the  Maoris  ;  "  they  greedily 
swallowed  the  stinking  droppings  when  we  were  boiling  down  the  fat  of  dog-fish." 
Rats  are  eaten  as  a  rule  only  by  the  common  people,  in  Tahiti  only  by  women. 
Most  birds  are  reckoned  sacred.  Among  vegetable  articles  of  food  the  chief 
is  bread-fruit ;  .then  taro,  yams,  and  sweet  potatoes.  Bread-fruit  is  sometimes 
eaten  fresh-baked,  sometimes  leavened ;  Fiji  being  the  only  part  of  Melanesia 
where  the  latter  is  usual.  The  taro  is 
washed  to  remove  the  acrid  part,  and  the 
flour  that  remains  as  a  sediment  is  kneaded. 
By  letting  the  dough  ferment  the  Poly- 
nesians obtain  poi,  their  favourite  food, 
resembling  slightly  sour  porridge.  It 
will  keep  for  a  long  time  ;  and  baked  yam 
will  keep :  for  a  year.  In  Tahiti  the 
sweet  potato  is  eaten  only  so  long  as 
there  is  no  ripe  bread-fruit.  We  have 
already  mentioned  the  coco -nut,  and  its 
great  value  as  a  food  supply.  In  the 
smaller  Polynesian  Islands  the  entire 
stock  of  vegetable  food .  is  provided  by 
coco  and  pandanus  -  palms,  with  taro. 
Kababo,  or  pandanus -meal,  dried  and 
roasted,  forms,  when  pressed  together, 
a  valuable  preserve.  Here  we  may  men- 
tion the  famous  earth-eating  habit  of  the 
people  of  New  Guinea  and  New  Caledonia. 


Another  vessel  of  the  same  material. 
Museum. ) 


(British 


The  truth  of  it  is  that  the  former 
eat  great  quantities  of  a  greenish  steatite,  the  latter  of  a  clay  containing  iron 
and  magnesia,  which  is  kept  in  dry  cakes  with  a  hole  through  them.  They  do 
not  do  it  for  hunger,  but  for  pleasure,  and  after  copious  meals. 

In  regard  to  the  manner  of  preparing  all  these  food-materials,  it  is  a  significant 
fact  that  most  of  the  Polynesians  and  many  of  the  Melanesians  possess  no 
earthenware  vessels,  and  still  less  any  of  metal.  They  boil  their  water  in  wooden 
vessels  by  dropping  in  red  hot  stones ;  but  they  do  not  use  this  for  cooking,  only 
to  make  shells  open  more  easily.  Cooking  with  hot  stones  was  formerly  more 
frequent,  but  has  become  unusual  ;  coco-nut  milk  is  boiled  in  the  fresh  shells  over 
the  fire.  The  most  common  method  is  to  lay  the  food  between  hot  stones.  It 
indicates  a  certain  progress  when  we  find  the  stones,  after  heating,  sprinkled 
with  water,  the  whole  covered  with  leaves  and  earth  and  so  left  to  itself.  Since 
the  days  of  Cook  and  Forster  many  Europeans  have  extolled  meat  steamed  in 

Simple  roasting  or  broiling  at  an  open  fire  is 
s 


this  way  far  above  our  roasts. 


THE  HISTORY  UF  MANKIND 


pronounced  a  method  of  dressing  fit  only  for  persons  in  a  hurry  or  for  slaves, 
-Cooking  is  the  duty  of  the  men  in  Pelew,  of  the  women  in  the  Mortlocks.* 
European  travellers  in  Hawfaii  have  been  amazed  to  see  a  fowl  tied  up  in  a 
bundle  with  a  hot  stone,  to  be  produced  cooked  at  the  next  halt.  They  eat  in 
the  open  air,  sitting  on  the  ground,  which  is  strewn  with  fresh  leaves  ;  hot  food 
being  carried  wrapped  in  banana  leaves.  The  Polynesians  use  no  salt,  but 
season  their  complicated  fish  and  meat  dishes  with  sea-water.  The  art  of  salting 
pig-meat  is  said  to  be  known  in  Hawaii.  In  many  parts  of  Melanesia  salt  is 
only  known  as  a  delicacy.  To  carve  and  distribute  the  meat  is  not  held  un- 
worthy of  the  highest  chiefs.  Special  formalities  are  observed  in  eating;  yet 
within  the  limits  of  these  there  is  room  for  an  unseemly  degree  of  avidity.  In 
most  places  men  and  women  must  not  eat  together,  nor  either  partake  of  what 
the  other  has  prepared.  With  almost  equal  anxiety  they  avoid  eating  out  of 
the  same  vessel  with  another.  In  ordinary  times  they  take  two  meals  in  the 
day ;  but  if  a  great  quantity  of  food  has  been  provided,  they  sit  at  it,  with 
occasional  interruptions  for  dancing,  play,  and  so  on,  till  it  is  all  devoured. 

Among  agricultural  implements  the  chief  place  is  taken  by  the  primitive 
stick,  cut  slanting  at  one  end  like  a  pen,  and  of  about  the  length  of  a  hay-fork. 
The  men  who  break  up  the  ground  with  these  are  followed  by  boys  carrying 
sticks  to  break  the  loosened  clods  still  smaller,  and  at  last  the  earth  is,  if  neces- 
sary, rubbed  fine  with  the  hands,  and  piled  up  in  little  mounds,  in  which  the 
seeds  or  cuttings  are  placed.  Among  the  Motus  of  New  Guinea  six  or  seven 
men  stand  one  behind  another  with  a  light  pointed  beam,  which  they  run  into 
the  ground,  heaving  up  at  the  word  of  command  a  huge  clod  of  earth.  Weeds 
and  brushwood  have  in  many  places  previously  been  removed  by  means  of  a 
narrow  paddle-shaped  sharp-edged  tool  of  hard  wood,  about  2  feet  long.  Some 
weeks  later  the  roots  are  grubbed  up  with  a  kind  of  hoe,  which  the  workman 
uses  in  a  stooping  attitude,  almost  level  with  the  ground. 

The  only  original  stimulant  used  in  the  eastern  islands  is  the  kava  or  ava, 
the  fermented  juice  from  the  chewed  roots  of  Piper  methysticum.  The  first 
Europeans  considered  that  the  use  of  it  had  increased  rapidly.  Even  at  that  time 
it  was  productive  of  great  mischief,  causing  dimness  of  sight  and  weakness  of 
memory.  Yet  there  are  islands  where  temperance  prevails,  and  even  in  Melanesia 
it  is  partaken  of  in  very  varying  amounts.  Some  drink  it  like  coffee,  others 
carouse  from  gigantic  bowls  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl.  The  mode  of  preparing 
kava  is  as  follows :  a  shallow  bowl  of  hard  wood  resting  on  three  short  feet  is 
placed  on  the  ground,  girls  and  women  lie  in  a  circle  round  it,  break  off  small 
pieces  of  the  dried  kava  root,  put  them  in  their  mouths,  and,  when  thoroughly 
chewed,  spit  them  into  the  bowl ;  water  is  added,  the  drink  is  stirred,  and  the 
beverage  is  ready.  In  Fiji  it  is  said  that  this  method  of  preparation  comes  from 
Polynesia,  and  that  formerly  the  pieces  were  cut.  Coco-nut  shells,  or,  as  in 
Tonga,  four-cornered  cups  made  of  plantain  leaf,  serve  as  drinking-vessels,  and 
are  drained  with  much  enjoyment.  The  drink  is  a  dark  grey  dirty-looking  brew 
of  a  by  no  means  pleasant  bitter  taste.  In  the  kava  carouses  of  the  Arii  in 
the  Society  Islands,  all  the  excesses  of  intoxication  were  to  be  observed  up  to 
the  point  of  homicide  and  murder.  The  mode  of  calling  together  those  who 
were  to  chew  and  those  who  were  to  enjoy  the  drink  ;  the  songs  which  accompany 
the  pressing  out  of  the  chewed  root ;  the  prayers  when  the  water  was  poured  on ; 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA  259 

and,  finally,  the  song  which  celebrates  the  chiefs  first  draught,  all  point  to  an 
idea  of  sanctity  as  connected  with  this  indulgence.  Thus  in  Vatd  kava  is  drunk- 
only  in  the  worship  of  the  spirits  who  dispense  health  ;  in  Tanna  it  is  drunk  as  in 
Polynesia,  women  being  excluded,  and  a  special  place  allotted  to  it.  Kava  drink- 
ing becomes  less  as  we  go  westward,  and  therefore  is  perhaps  of  Polynesian 
origin.  At  any  rate  this  kind  of  pepper  was  probably  introduced  into  some 
Melanesian  Islands  from  the  east.  The  people  of  New  Guinea  also  drink  kava 
or  kau,  but  the  practice  is  not  universal,  and  takes  place  only  on  festive  occasions. 

The  drink  is  not  unknown  in  Micronesia  ;  it  is,  however,  obtained,  not  by 
chewing,  but  by  crushing  the  roots.  The  mass,  after  damping,  is  packed  in  strips 
of  hibiscus  and  wrung  out.  In  Ponapd  ava,  which  once  was  sacred,  is  now  drunk 
like  water.  In  Melanesia  also  the  preparation  by  crushing  is  found.  Among 
many  Polynesian  races  kava  afforded  the  basis  for  poisonous  drinks  ;  a  popular 
poison  among  the  Hawaiians  was  made  by  mixing  with  it  the  leaves  of  Tephrosia 
piscatoria.  Daphne  indica,  and  the  common  gourd  Lagenaria.  That  the  consump- 
tion of  spirituous  drinks  was  originally  almost  or  quite  unknown,  is  distinctly 
asserted  in  regard  to  New  Zealand,  New  Caledonia,  the  Loyalty  Islands,  Waigiu, 
and  Humboldt  Bay.  In  a  few  places,  as  Guadalcanar  and  New  Georgia,  a  kind 
of  palm  wine  is  made,  the  juice  being  drawn  off  by  incisions  in  the  unopened 
flower.  We  find  the  same  in  Micronesia,  where  the  people  of  Ponap6  even 
distilled  a  kind  of  brandy  from  palm  wine.  The  plague  of  brandy  imported 
from  Europe  has,  under  the  influence  of  the  missions,  happily  been  less  diffused 
in  the  smaller  islands  than  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 

Coco-nut  juice  serves  as  the  ordinary  drink,  the  nut  is  held  high,  and  the 
juice  allowed  to  flow  into  the  mouth,  and  the  same  mode  of  drinking  is  customary 
from  other  vessels  ;  to  touch  the  nut  with  the  mouth  is  considered  unmannerly. 
As  kava  came  in  from  the  eastward,  so  did  tobacco  and  betel  from  the  west. 
We  can  indicate  New  Guinea  and  its  neighbourhood  as  the  central  point  of  both. 
Both  travel  in  close  conjunction,  tobacco  having  spread  with  extraordinary  rapidity  ; 
for  instance,  in  a  few  years  it  has  overrun  the  Admiralty  Islands  and  New  Ireland. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  eighties  the  limit  of  tobacco  passed  exactly  through 
Normanby,  now  it  is  cultivated  on  all  the  larger  groups  of  the  Pacific  Islands, 
and  in  many  places  it  already  grows  wild.  In  east  and  south-east  New  Guinea 
it  is  smoked  with  a  piece  of  bamboo,  through  the  small  opening  of  which  the 
smoke  is  drawn  from  the  bowl  and  swallowed  ;  this  intoxicating  practice  is  known 
as  bau-bau.  In  the  Woodlark,  Trobriand,  and  Laughlan  groups,  the  natives  pro- 
fess to  have  smoked  through  a  reed  before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans.  This 
was  filled  with  the  smoke  from  the  leaves  of  a  certain  bush,  and  then  passed 
round  the  circle  till  it  was  emptied.  This  reed  has  been  mistakenly  regarded 
as  a  weapon.  The  Papuas  are  great  smokers,  and  A.  B.  Meyer  mentions  as  a 
peculiarity  of  theirs  that,  after  puffing  out  the  smoke  through  nose  or  mouth, 
they  form  their  mouths  to  a  point,  and  draw  in  the  air  with  a  noise,  so  that  he 
could  always  hear  when  a  Papua  was  smoking  in  his  neighbourhood.  Clay  pipes 
have  long  been  manufactured  at  various  spots  among  the  islands,  and  the  Maoris 
understood  how  to  carve  them  of  stone  in  the  same  artistic  fashion  as  is  shown 
in  their  most  original  utensils.  Betel  extends  as  far  as  Tikopia,  further  east  if 
has  been  diffused  in  quite  recent  times  by  means  of  labourers  who  have  emigrated 
•or  been  exported  as  far  as  Fiji,  but  is  not  yet  found  in  the   New  Hebrides  or 


26o 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


^-Ms^ 


UsmA . 


'0% 


\ 


New  Caledonian  hut  (Qu.  sacred)  after  a  model ;  doorposts  and  roof-ornament 
supplied  from  originals  in  the  Berlin  Museum. 


the  Banks  and  Torres  Islands.  Where  it 
cannot  be  got,  as,  for  instance,  in  Isabel, 
they  use  an  aromatic  bark.  The  western 
Melanesians  all  chew  betel.  Wherever 
it  occurs  the  teeth  are  black,  and  the 
traces  of  red  saliva  speak  of  the  existence 
of  natives  even  in  the  desolate  Finisterre 
mountains.  Betel  nuts  are  given  as  pre- 
sents to  guests  ;  areca  nut,  pepper  leaves, 
and  lime  are  used  just  as  among  the 
Malays,  and  betel  pepper  is  carried  in 
long  ornamented  gourds  with  a  small 
opening  through  which  to  introduce  the 
long  narrow  spoon.  Betel  boxes  and 
spoons  are  among  the  most  sedulously 
wrought  utensils  in  New  Guinea  and  its 
neighbourhood.  It  is  curious  that  the 
words  for  these  requisites  in  the  Admiralty 
Islands  are  very  unlike  the  Malay  names, 
while  those  of  the  Yap  Islanders  who 
belong  to  the  west  Micronesians,  among 
whom  betel  chewing  is  rare,  remind  us 
of  those  used  in  the  Admiralty  Islands. 

The  houses  of   Oceania   show  Malay 
affinities.      They    are    four-cornered    and 
most  frequently  rectangular,  long  and  low. 
The    long    roof    of    palm-leaves, 
rushes,  or  boughs,  often  resembles 
an  inverted  boat  or  an  elongated 
bee -hive.        The     ridge     is     car- 
ried by  lofty  poles,  and 
the     eaves     rest     upon 
shorter  posts,  the  walls 
consisting    of   reeds   or 
mats      fixed      between 
them.     In  carefully  built 
houses  the  roof  is  formed 
of    rafters    and     sound 
timbers,     covered    with 
mats     of    banana  -  leaf.. 
The  larger  houses  stand 
on  stone  foundations  in 
the  shape  of  raised  plat- 
forms.     In      Polynesia, 
and  the  extreme  east  of 
Melanesia,        especially 
Fiji,     the     houses     fre- 
quently stand  on  mounds. 


LABOUR,   DWELLINGS,   AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


26r 


of  earth  3  to  6  feet  high,  the  height  being  proportioned  to  the  owner's  claims 
to  importance.  In  Samoan  huts,  the  roof,  made  of  round  bent  timbers  thatched 
with  sugar-cane  or  maize -leaves,  rests  upon  a  number  of  shorter  posts,  the 
intervals  between  them  being  filled  up  with  blinds  of  plaited  palm -leaf.  In 
the  Friendly  Islands  the  plan  departs  curiously  from  the  rectangular,  the  section 
below  the  boat-shaped  roof  being 
pentagonal ;  and  the  same  in 
Easter  Island.  In  Hawaii  the 
different  character  of  the  material 
has  led  to  a  variation  in  style. 
The  boat -form  is  maintained  for 
the  roof,  and  the  frame -work  is 
the  same  ;  but  the  roof  itself,  made 
of  thick  layers  of  grass,  is  carried 
down  to  the  ground,  creating  real 
grass  huts.  In  the  Melanesian 
Islands  this  form  is  retained  with 
few  exceptions.  We  find  it  in  New 
Guinea,  where  the  huts  are  on  posts 
forming  an  oblong  of  1 3  to  3  3  feet 
by  13  to  22  feet ;  and  in  the 
Solomons,  where  the  average  length 
of  the  family  dwellings  is  45  to 
70  feet,  with  a  breadth  of  nearly 
40.  Here  the  roof,  projecting  and 
supported  on  posts,  is  thatched 
with  sago  and  coco-palm  leaves, 
and  the  side  walls,  about  3  feet 
high,  are  woven  in  pretty  patterns 
of  dark  and  light  bamboo.  Often 
a  veranda  is  built  on  to  the  narrow 
side  where  the  entrance  is,  and 
gives  a  touch  of  elegance  to  the 
whole  edifice  ;  while  the  roof,  made 
of  leaves  laid  close  together,  evinces 
even  more  careful  work.  The 
Fijian  buildings  also  to  some  ex- 
tent   fall    under    this    rectangular 


Roof  ornaments  and  shoring-props  from  New  Caledonia. 
(Vienna  Museum.) 


style.  Besides  those  which  are  characterised  by  the  long  roof-tree  we  find  a 
second  class,  of  which  the  ground-plan  is  a  circle  or  an  oval,  and  its  external 
mark  the  conical  or  even  bee-hive  roof.  This  is  indigenous  especially  to  New 
Guinea,  to  some  of  the  groups  in  the  Torres  Straits,  to  New  Caledonia  and  the 
Admiralty  Islands  ;  also  to  Fiji  and  the  Solomons.  The  whole  thing  often  looks 
just  like  a  hay-rick.  The  temples  differ  from  the  huts  only  in  size  and  internal 
fittings.  An  advance  towards  embellishment  is  seen  in  the  fashion  of  planting  a 
fiery-red  dracaena  near  the  huts.  . 

The  Polynesian  house  shows  no  tendency  to  soar  on  high,  but  grows  only  in 
length,  even  when  it  is  already  some  hundreds  of  feet  long.     Thus,  however  elegant 


262 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


the  general  appearance  may  be,  nothing  of  architectural  importance  is  arrived  at ; 
and  the  building,  even  though  erected  with  care  and  amid  special  rites,  is  light  and 
not  durable.  Ruins  of  habitations  are  seen  only  where  a  stone  foundation  has 
been  laid.  The  Hawaiians  were  the  last  to  give  up  their  grass-huts — long  after 
they  had  adopted  Christianity  together  with  European  clothes  and  utensils  ;  but 
even  seventy  years  ago  their  chiefs  were  having  stone  houses  built.  The  per- 
sistence of  the  Polynesian  house  in  less  elevated  forms  explains  the  value  attached 
to  the  roof  When  a  Samoan  village  in  time  of  war  is  fearing  an  attack,  the 
people  take  off  their  precious  roofs  and  carry  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  The 
roof  of  a  New  Caledonian  house  is  richly  adorned  with  bunches  of  leaves  and 
shells.  Under  the  peculiar  conditions  of  the  Maoris  the  Polynesian  style  under- 
went the  greatest  variation  among  them.  The  ground-plan  was  the  same,  but  the 
house  had  firm  wooden  walls,  with  only  a  small  door  and  narrow  window  in  the 

front,  which  faced  east- 
wards. The  roof-tree  was 
carried  over  a  porch,  and 
the  roof  thatched  with 
rushes  or  coarse  grass. 
This  simple  type  can  be 
materially  enriched  by 
carvings.  These  adorn  in 
the  first ,  place  .  the  main 
pillar,  which  is  in  human 
shape  ;  also  the  supporters 
of  the  porch,  the  gable,  and 
often  each  individual  piece 
In  the  less   genial  districts  they  have  winter.,  houses 


Mats  from  Tongatabu.     (Cook  Collection,  Vienna. 


of  wood  inside  and  out 
half  underground.  In  winter  a  fire  is  lighted  inside,  and  when  the  coals  have 
ceased  to  glow  every  opening  is  closed  air-tight,  till  with  an  external-  tempera- 
ture of  15°  or  so  the  interior  is  up  to  80°  or  90°.  This  no  doubt  is  one  of  the 
causes  of  their  disorders,  for  besides  the  exhalations  of  humanity  there  are  also 
tobacco -smoke  and  the  odours  of  drying  fish,  the  New  Zealanders'  "national 
perfume."  On  the  other  hand,  the  neighbourhood  of  the  huts  is  kept  clean,  and 
in  the  palmy  days  of  the  Maoris  a  village  would  always  give  the  impression  of 
tidiness  and  comfort. 

Here  and  there  in  Polynesia  stone  buildings  have  been  found  which  have 
been  taken  to  be  habitations.  The  caves  in  heaps  of  stones  which  are  among 
the  curiosities  of  Easter  Island  were  perhaps  places  of  refuge  in  case  of  war. 
They  exist  also  on  other  islands.  In  Isabel,  villages  defended  by  palisades  for 
the  reception  of  fugitives  have  been  laid  out  in  the  heights  of  mountains  difficult 
of  access.  They  are  called  Teitaihi,  and  from  the  sea  look  like  little  forts.  In 
Hawaii  the  boundaries  enclosing  the  villages  were  marked  by  walls  a  yard  high. 

Although  as  regards  the  form  of  the  house  it  is  immaterial  in  itself  whether  it 
stands  on  the  ground  or  on  piles,  on  dry  land  or  in  the  water,  yet  pile-building  in 
Melanesian  dwellings  has  been  carried  to  an  extent  found  nowhere  else  ;  and  even 
where  it  is  not,  as  it  often  is,  seen  in  its  extreme  development,  it  forms  a  charac- 
teristic feature  of  life  and  scenery.  Whether  on  dry  ground  or  in  the  water,  the 
house  is  built  on  piles.     Speaking  of  the  village  of  Sowek  on   Geelvink   Bay  (of 


LABOUR,   DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


263 


which  we  give  a  coloured  illustration),  where  some  thirty  houses  stand  on  piles,  at- 
tached by  tree  stems  to  each  other,  but  not  to  the  shore,  Raffray  says  :  "  We  have  in 
fact  a  perfect  pile-village,  just  like  those  which  science  has  reconstructed  from  the 
prehistoric  period."  The  yet  neater  huts  in  Humboldt  Bay  similarly  rest  on  piles 
a  yard  out  of  the  water,  but  are  connected  by  bridges.  The  roof  rises  to  a  height 
of  nearly  40  feet,  and  forms  a  steep  six  or  eight-sided  pyramid.  The  houses  more 
in  the  interior  of  New  Guinea  are  likewise  built  on  a  similar  plan  ;  and  although  on 
dry  land,  stand  upon  lofty  piles  which,  with  their  sloping  stays,  present  a  highly 
original  type  of  architecture  as  shown  in  the  cut.     They  hang  like  eagles'   nests, 


House  in  the  Arfak  village  of  Memiwa,  New  Guinea.      (After  Raffray. ) 

some  50  feet  in  the  air,  on  their  thin  swaying  trestle-work,  looking  as  if  every 
puff  of  wind  must  sweep  them  away.  These  airy  dwellings  are  entered  by  means 
of  slanting  tree-stems  with  steps  nicked  in  them. 

Constant  hostilities  have  given  rise  to  a  special  architecture  in  New  Guinea 
and  the  Solomon  Islands.  Huts,  known  as  bako,  adapted  to  hold  some  twelve 
people,  are  attached  to  the  branches  of  huge  trees  at  a  height  of  80  to  100  feet. 
The  stem  below  is  stripped  of  all  unnecessary  branches,  and  perfectly  smooth. 
Ladders  made  from  liana  or  bamboo,  which  can  be  drawn  up,  serve  to  climb  into 
these  tree-huts,  in  which  stones  and  spears  are  stored.  At  the  foot  of  each  tree  a 
second  hut  is  built,  to  live  in  during  the  day. 

The  size  of  the  buildings  is  the  expression  of  social  conditions.  Where  one 
family  inhabits  the  house,  as  in  Polynesia,  they  are  small,  becoming  larger  in 


:64 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 


proportion  as  the  family  groups  adhere  to  the  old  custom  of  a  common  dwelling. 
Large  houses  belonging  to  individuals  are  rare.  In  Fiji,  where  the  houses  are  very 
fine,  the  old  customs  had  been  much  weakened  by  the  prosperity  of  the  aristocracy 
of  chiefs  even  before  the  English  annexation.  As  regards  size,  and  in  other  respects, 
the  architecture  of  the  Solomon  Islands  comes  nearest  to  that  of  Fiji,  the  New 
Hebrides  standing  a  stage  lower.     The  chiefs'  houses,  the  capacious  assembly  and 

guest  -  houses,  the  boat- 
houses,  are  carefully  built 
and  adorned  with  carved 
work,  painting,  and  skulls  ; 
while  large  pots,  orna- 
mental bowls,  plaited  work, 
and  here  and  there  fire- 
arms form  the  most  highly- 
valued  decorations.  In 
New  Guinea  the  village 
halls,  called  marea,  are 
specially  notable.  Even 
in  the  pile-villages  they  are 
found  in  a  reduced  form. 
In  New  Hanover  and  New 
Ireland  they  are  buildings 
of  moderate  size,  12  feet 
by  25  or  30  feet ;  so,  too, 
in  New  Britain,  where  the 
roof  of  palm -leaves,  pro- 
jecting a  little  beyond  the  outer  walls,  has  on  either  side  a  kind  of  turret,  on  the 
top  of  which  is  a  bundle  of  reeds.  It  is  in  Micronesia  that  the  assembly  or 
club-houses  are  most  conspicuous.  In  Yap,  Pelew,  and  Mancape  in  the  Gilberts, 
two  kinds  of  houses  are 
universally  distinguished 
—  the  family  houses, 
blais,  and  the  great 
houses  or  bats.  The 
building  of  the  great 
houses  is  a  political 
matter,  and  as  such 
entrusted  to  consecrated 
artificers.  They  are 
rectangular  buildings, 
standing  alone :  in  the  Carolines  on  a  stone  foundation  ;  in  Pelew  on  a  platform 
of  beams,  upon  which  the  polished  floor  immediately  rests.  Here  the  principle 
of  pile-building  is  employed  on  dry  land.  In  contrast  to  the  care  with  which 
foundation,  floor,  and  walls  are  treated,  the  high  steep  roof  seems  neglected, 
no  doubt  because  violent  storms  frequently  take  it  off  The  common  hall  has 
generally  six  similar  openings  the  entire  height  of  the  wall,  from  a  yard  to  a  yard 
and  a  half  in  width.  These,  like  the  doors  and  windows,  can  be  closed  with 
light   screens    of   reed    or   bamboo.     Verandahs   contribute    to    the   comfortable 


Stool  from  Dorey  in  New  Guinea — one-seventh  real  size. 
(Christy  Collection. ) 


New  Caledonian  head-stools.      (Vienna  Museum. ) 


LABOUR,  DWELLINGS,  AND  FOOD  IN  OCEANIA 


265 


character  of  the  houses.  In  the  case  of  the  club-houses  of  New  Guinea  they  are 
often  covered  with  hangings  of  leaf  fibre.  The  low  door  has  often  a  porch  of 
its  own. 

In  the  interior  of  the  Polynesian  huts  apartments  are  arranged  by  means  of 
woven  work  and  matting  stretched  from  wall  to  wall ;  in  the  smaller  houses  at 
least  a  sleeping  place  is  divided  off.  The  carving  on  timbers  and  pillars,  the 
reed  panelling  or  mat 
tapestry  on  the  walls, 
the  cords  of  various 
colours  with  which  ' 
the  rafters  are  bound, 
hanging  down  from 
the  roof,  lend  a  cheer- 
ful and  pleasant  char- 
acter to  the  interior  of 

the  better  houses.  The  floor  is  carpeted  with  mats  ;  near  the  central  pillar  is  a 
hollow  where  the  domestic  fire  burns.  This  central  pillar  is  the  place  of  honour 
where  the  master  of  the  house  and  his  head  wives  sleep,  and  where  weapons 


Carved  and  painted  rafters  from  common  ^alls  [bais]  in  Ruk. 
(Godeffroy  Collection,  Leipzig. ) 


I    Goiu-d  bottle  from  the  D'Entrecasteaux  Islands— one-third  real  size      ; 
Yap— one-fourth  real  size.     (Finsch  Collection,  Berlm. 


Head-stool  from 


and  utensils  hang  in  tasteful  arrangement.  Less  comfortable  is  the  fitting  up  of 
Melanesian  houses,  in  particular  of  the  pile- buildings,  the  floor  of  which  is 
formed  by  cross  timbers  hardly  as  thick  as  the  arm  and  often  half  a  yard  apart, 
rendering  a  certain  amount  of  dexterity  necessary  to  step  over  the  gaps  In 
the  actual  living  rooms  on  either  side  of  the  corridor,  bamboo  rods  more  closely 
laid   form   the   floor.     There   are  no  windows,  since   it   is   thought   that   ghosts 


266  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND 

do  not  come  in  through  the  doors  but  through  openings  in  the  roof.  Boards 
covered  with  a  mat  form  the  bed,  the  hearth  is  of  basket-work  with  a  thick  layer 
of  earth  on  it ;  long  thick  pieces  of  bamboo  with  the  joints  perforated  for  holding 
water,  sacks  of  matting,  javelins,  bows,  arrows,  spears,  have  their  appointed  places. 
In  Tahiti  there  used  to  be  regular  stands  for  utensils,  also  shelves,  and  a  long 
boat-shaped  framework  on  which  the  dishes  were  placed  at  meals.  In  Samoan 
huts  at  the  present  day  a  chest  stands  on  the  floor  in  which  clothes  and  small 
objects  are  kept.  Chiefs  even  had  a  chest  of  drawers,  and  similar  articles  of 
furniture  have  been  introduced  elsewhere  in  the  course  of  Europeanising.  Among 
the  house  furniture  of  the  Tongans,  the  headstool  of  hard  lancewood  is  never 
absent ;  the  Samoans  use  as  a  support  for  their  heads  a  piece  of  bamboo  half  a 
yard  long,  as  thick  as  the  arm,  and  with  short  legs.  In  Yap,  the  Marshall  and 
Solomon  Islands,  and  no  doubt  elsewhere,  a  billet  serves.  In  Fiji,  as  in  Tonga, 
Samoa,  and  Tahiti,  this  has  become  a  regular  stool.  In  Yap  these  stools  have 
faces  carved  at  either  end.  Seats  are  of  European  introduction,  and  have  estab- 
lished themselves  only  in  the  huts  of  the  chiefs.  Even  in  the  Christian  churches 
men  and  women  sit  upon  large  mats  with  their  legs  doubled  under  them.  The 
artistic  tendency  shows  itself  also  in  house  architecture  by  the  picturesque  forms 
given  to  the  gables,  often  as  much  as  40  feet  high,  of  the  roofs,  which  reach  far 
down,  often  saddle-shaped  and  woven  with  carefully-worked  thatch.  The  reed 
walls,  often  entirely  concealed  on  the  outside  by  the  roof,  display  on  the  inside 
pretty  patterns.  Where  there  are  three  layers  of  reeds  the  inner  one  lies 
horizontally,  and  the  crossings  of  the  others  are  utilised  to  produce  these  patterns. 
A  master  of  difficult  patterns  is  a  man  in  great  demand.  Much  trouble  is 
expended  in  Micronesia  in  the  adornment  of  the  club-houses  :  the  exterior  is 
painted  and  inlaid  with  shells  ;  in  the  interior  red  ochre  is  used  on  the  walls,  and 
the  floor  is  varnished  with  vegetable  lacquer.  The  principal  decoration  consists  in 
winding  the  reeds  with  string  ;  also  in  the  carving  of  the  timbers  and  walls  with 
hieroglyphics  of  mythical  signification. 

The  relation  between  houses  and  ships  exercises  a  remarkable  influence  upon 
the  nature  of  the  carved  and  painted  ornaments,  perhaps  upon  the  whole  style. 
The  walls  of  the  house  are  made  by  preference  from  the  planks  of  old  vessels,  and 
bowed  outwards.  The  roof  is  shaped  like  a  ship,  and  the  whole  house  is  like  a 
boat  turned  over  and  placed  on  props.  Images  of  ancestors  on  the  gable  or  at 
the  side  of  a  house  call  to  mind  how  the  whole  house  «was  consecrated  from  the 
foundation  upwards.  Small  monuments  in  the  neighbourhood  take  the  form  of 
miniature  houses.  If  one  considers  that  a  large  house  is  fastened  together  only  by 
cords  ;  that  the  boards,  some  6  inches  wide,  and  the  massive  beams  were  hewn  with 
shell  axes  and  finely  smoothed  ;  that  the  planks  of  the  floor  are  even  polished ; 
that  the  holes  were  made  with  sharks'  teeth  gimlets,  we  may  get  an  idea  of  the 
amount  of  labour  expended  upon  such  a  building.  These  works  are  eloquent 
witnesses  of  the  height  which  craftsmanship,  art,  and  comfort  have  attained  where 
the  age  of  stone  still  prevails. 

A  small  number  of  houses — some  twenty  or  thirty — form  a  village  at  a 
favourable  spot  on  the  shore,  by  preference  at  the  mouth  of  a  river,  where  fresh 
and  salt  water  are  at  hand.  Villages  are  rare  further  in  the  interior,  and  then 
only  on  heights  ;  on  the  shore  they  are  apt  to  be  hidden  behind  a  belt  of  forest. 
The  mode  of  life  points,  indeed,  to  the  sea  ;    in  former  times  it  may  have  been 


THE  FAMILY  AND   THE  STATE  IN  OCEANIA  267 


otherwise.  Everywhere  in  the  hills  we  find  traces  of  deserted  villages,  but  the 
present  inhabitants  know  nothing  about  them.  Perhaps  the  assemblages  were 
once  larger;  now  a  village  of  more  than  500  inhabitants  is  a  rare  exception. 
Life  in  these  villages  is  very  varied,  often  idyllic  ;  each  dwelling  stands  separate, 
surrounded  by  gardens  and  fields,  or  under  the  shade  of  lofty  trees.  Paved  roads 
are  frequent :  in  Yap  they  are  a  yard  or  two  wide  and  paved  with  slabs  of  stone, 
broadening  out  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  club-houses  into  a  paved  place  of 
assembly.  Here,  and  by  every  old  house,  flat  stones  are  sunk  into  the  ground  as 
seats.  It  is  in  Fiji  especially  that  we  hear  of  well-laid  roads  and  other  public 
works.  There  a  canal  called  Kelimoosu  has  been  cut  through  the  delta  from  Bau 
to  the  river  Wainiki  in  order  to  shorten  the  passage  for  strategic  purposes.  New 
Caledonia  shows  remains  of  ancient  aqueducts,  and  in  Espiritu  Santo  the  village 
streets  are  to  this  day  laid  with  flints  and  provided  with  conduits.  A  light  breath 
of  historic  life  sweeps  with  a  gentle  melancholy  round  these  villages,  and  round 
the  solitude  of  the  superfluous  fortific'ations  on  the  hills  and  the  stone  pyramids 
which  stand  man-high  in  the  stone  circles  of  the  Nangas. 


§  8.  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  STATE   IN  OCEANIA 

The  family — Birth — Dedication